The Collected Tales of Alex Hawthorne as Approved by the Board
by donnieth65
Summary: Board certified and sponsored by Spacer's Choice: A journal kept by Alex Hawthorne, Captain of the Unreliable. Chronicles life for Alex before being smushed by an escape pod. "It's not the best choice, it's Spacer's Choice!" When Alex is contacted by a mad scientist to help bring revolution to Halcyon, he must face a huge choice amidst the chaos of two competing relationships.
1. Chapter 1 Not Much More Than I Bargained

**The Collected Tales of Alex Hawthorne**

as Approved by the Board

* * *

**Chapter 1 **Not Much More Than I Bargained For

"Thank you for purchasing this Spacer's Choice sponsored record collection datapad, valued customer! It's not the best choice, it's Spacer's Choice." said the monotonous drawl of Moon Man.

It was Martin Callahan, the aforementioned company's representative on the Groundbreaker. My name was Alex Hawthorne. I enjoyed paying this specific vendor visits any time I needed to restock supplies for the Unreliable because the small man in the hilariously cheesy Moon Man mascot hat was pathetically amusing. I also held good reputation with the company and was always able to receive the best price on Spacer's Choice products. Instead of going to other more expensive shops on the Promenade, I stopped by Martin's stall often to take advantage of the ability to talk down prices my good standing with the company allowed me.

This was the first stop on my way back from the Board offices on deck for a job I'd picked up recently and buying the datapad was the last thing I needed to do before returning to my ship. I shot Martin finger guns before shoving the datapad in my pouch. "Have a good day Moon Man!" I laughed.

Martin snapped his fingers and gave a less than enthusiastic, "It's always a good day at Spacer's Choice."

My boots clanged heavily on the Unreliable's metal ramp. I recognized the cockney undertones of ADA's computerized female voice as I entered the vessel, "Welcome back, Captain. I trust you've secured what you needed then?"

I nodded, "Yes, ADA. Thank you."

"You are welcome." she said surely.

"Now, normal procedures, head into space and keep Groundbreaker proximity." I said before continuing on.

"Yes, Captain. As per usual, I always follow a direct order." I could hear the sass in her voice.

Bored, I moved past the bridge. Fiddling with the fastener on my holster, I snapped it open and closed many times as I ascended the stairs before I finally came to a stop on the landing outside my quarters. I grinned as with one hand I held onto the record datapad and with the other I pressed the door control and it hissed open.

I tossed my pack towards my bed without looking as I walked to my desk. The bag landed on the floor next to the bed. Sitting in the chair by my desk, I set down the record pad and powered on the terminal. It was required by Law for every employee of all Halcyon Holdings' affiliates to keep track of their income for expenditure purposes. I needed to update my logs to indicate I'd been paid for the last job I'd been hired to do by Sublight. I was way less formal, liking stories over spreadsheets, and so wrote about my adventures in a journal kept on my terminal and personal datapad.

Every employee, including me, who was worth anything to Sublight, knew that the things they were really doing for the company was beneath the Law. They were subtly undermining the Laws of the Board. For anyone living this life, that was okay, especially for me. I absolutely hated the Board and everything they stood for. So much so that I'd recently been in communication with one of their most wanted outlaws, Phineas Welles.

Phineas wanted help with some of his more radical ideas, but I had been skeptical, as a smuggler under the Law I was always cautious. So me and Phineas had come to a compromise and it was agreed we'd get to know each other before I took on any major assignments. Phineas' way of doing this was to send me tips on various scores to help show me I could trust him. It had proven to be a mutually beneficial arrangement, and so I continued choosing to undergo these tasks. The more I did, the more I felt comfortable doing things for the so called mad scientist.

Not only that, but Phineas riveted me with captivating conversations. While I didn't understand half the things Phineas brought up, and the man certainly wasn't the most socially adept, he did have a certain charm about him that appealed to me. I liked people that could speak their mind without shame, and Phineas' extremist ideas about overthrowing the Board were like a fine salvage, you always got your worth out of the shiny bits. _Always get your worth, my favorite motto. _I thought to myself as I straightened from my chair and went to plop down in my bed.

I was just getting comfortable into my pillows, when I heard a sharp ding beneath me, coming from my pack, and noticed the light on my terminal flare up for a short second. I groaned, reaching over the side of my bed to dig into my backpack. I dug around without any fruit before having to roll, with another sigh, onto my side and focus on searching the bag. I finally retrieved my datapad. It was a message from Phineas, labelled Urgent.

**[FROM: Phin] Alex, my friend, you did manage to get that collection of records for me, did you not? I am in need of that information as soon as possible.** Phin sent, as always lacking some much needed tact. I didn't mind, I preferred the doctor's brazen nature to that of the mindless corporate drones.

**[FROM: Alex] I was just sitting to relax. Give a man a break!** I typed my reply hastily, rolling back onto the fluffy pillows. I mumbled in satisfaction, eyelids closing, as the pad blipped another notification.

**[Phin] When the Board falls, then breaks can be made mandatory, but until then, the records friend?**

**[Alex] Can you give me a moment, Phin? I only just got home and I'd like a breather.**

**[Phin] Running around all day, huh? I do apologize for my brevity, but I lack the time for it to be of concern.** There was a minute before yet another message came through. **So did you obtain the pad, my good friend?**

My eyes snapped open and I moaned in annoyance when I finally sat up and picked up the datapad to reply. **[Alex] I do have it, give me a second.** Sighing, I chuckled to myself, knowing the scientist could be a handful, but at least his priorities were straight.

I slid off my bed and walked the short distance to the terminal. Leaning over the keyboard, I connected the record pad to the port then keyed in the command to transmit the data to Phineas Welles. Barely a few seconds after another message from Phin popped up on the screen indicating he'd gotten the transmission in the subject line. I plopped down on my bed again and opened the message on my datapad.

**[Phin] Thank you, Captain. Now, for the sake of not seeming like a prick, would you like to tell me about your day? I assume the permissions required to obtain this data were filed with mountains of paperwork!** As usual some of Phin's dry humor to lighten the mood. I smiled to myself as I read the message.

**[Alex] No such mountains, but it wasn't a piece of sweetheart cake either.**

**[Phin] You're alright though of course.** His statement of the fact may seem rude, but was in fact another shining example of the scientist's lack of social skills. I was used to his pragmatism by now.

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help smiling to myself. **[Alex] I could be better.** **I did have to go to Reed in Edgewater to obtain the proper permissions though, then he had it sent to Udom,** **who then approved it for purchase through Moon Ma-er-Martin. You owe me for those bits by the way. **I heaved a breath. It had been a long day of back and forths and running errands for everybody.

**[Phin] Yes, you shall be reimbursed for your losses and compensated for your hard work,** **as you are anytime I contract you. But it was well worth it to travel to Terra 2, yes? **I could just see Phin's annoyed frown and frustrated shake of his head as he typed that last part.

**[Alex] Yes your tip paid off nicely. I appreciate it, like always!**

**[Phin] That's great to hear!**

There was a second before another message came through and it put a silence in the air. **[Phin]** **You do realize I consider you friend right? I don't always mean to come across so brashly.**

I was taken aback by the sudden mindfulness. Frowning, I thought about it for a second before sending anything. "Huh," I said aloud, "I'm actually getting used to it."

**[Alex] I'm used to it, don't worry.**

**[Phin] That's the point! I do worry. I have emotions you know.**

Another, shorter, pause. **What I'm trying to say is, I don't always appertain to people very well.**

Suddenly there was a ping from another message, sent by someone else. It stated Udom in the notification window. I quickly typed to Phin before switching over, **[From: Alex] I understand, Phin.**

**[From: Phin] I don't think you do...** I clicked away from the chat before Phin could finish typing anything else.

**[From: Udom] Alex, my boy, Are you still on the Groundbreaker? If you haven't gone off on one of your little adventures, I'd love to have You over for dinner tonight.**

Udom loved to think he and I were best of friends, and that wasn't exactly the case. I didn't dislike the rep, but I did tolerate him. Sometimes it was annoying, other times I liked to go with it. Udom had his own way with words, in much contrast to Phineas. Where Phin was all black-and-white thinking, Udom was very colorful. It was quite entertaining some nights. This was one of those nights. I felt I needed some relaxation and the fun way Udom dictated was a good way to take his mind off things.

**[Alex] Oh Udom, I'd prefer to just stay on my ship if you don't mind.**

**[Udom] Ah, busily filing your summary?** _Writing in my journal? _I looked up to the offwhite metal plates of my bed enclosure frame, noticing some of the grime on the edges of each interlocked plating. _No, I'm just laying here in bed kicking my leg, _my thoughts then strayed back to the conversation as I swung one leg thoughtlessly from the side of the bed, back and forth.

**[Alex] Yes, you could say that.** I had already written in my journal of course, but Udom didn't need to know that.

**[Udom] Ah yes, you could say I have as well.** I imagined Udom doing one of his expressive hand gestures, like clapping in glee, right about now. **You see, you mentioned your Journal to me the other day Inspiring me to take up doing the same!**

I laughed, **[Alex] Congrats, you actually learned something!**

**[Udom] I take offense to that :P :P** This was one of Udom's ways of coloring things in, when he text chatted with me, he sometimes included emoticons. There was no way the Board allowed that kind of self expression on their approved list of terminology. Yet the representative did it anyway and I thought it was funny. Udom continued, **Anyway, I've been writing my own Journal, just wanted you to know.**

**[Alex] That's sweet of you XD** I braved my own emoticon.

**[Udom] *hand over heart* Flirting are we?** Udom hadn't taken offense to his use of unsanctioned lettering! The man was quirky and I liked his subtle defiance of the Board.

**[Alex] Don't go too overboard now.**

**[Udom] Me? Never!**

I yawned heavily, almost dropping my datapad. **[Alex] I'm gonna get going now, a little tired on my end.**

**[Udom] A hard day's work deserves a rest You've earned it dear friend.**

A minute or so passed before another message, **[Udom] ****goodnight, Captain.**

I rolled my eyes and shook my head with a smile as I ignored it and put my datapad away. Then I shifted the covers on my bed, getting comfy beneath them.


	2. Chapter 2 Heading Towards Chaos

**Chapter 2 **Heading Towards Chaos

I woke to an urgent alert tone coming from the ship's intercoms. "ADA, what's going on?"

"I have put the ship under lockdown and am maintaining active status solely on the Captain's Terminal. Alex, you do know your ship has been boarded?" ADA added hastily at the end, promptly getting his attention.

I jumped up from bed, glancing at the time display on my terminal. It was just barely past 1 in the morning, Groundbreaker Actual Time. I was used to Vale Secondary Time as most of my jobs took place in Emerald Vale, so it was around 2am for me, but I easily woke to full attention at the feeling of danger. These situations weren't uncommon in my line of work.

"Who is it?" I snapped. I wanted to know who was on my ship and I wanted to know now.

"They appear to be UDL enforcers. Either that or outlaws attempting to steal the Blacklist you stole." ADA said sarcastically.

Obviously outlaws wouldn't have any use for the Blacklist, but UDL may. However, the reason why wasn't clear, "Why would UDL enforcers be looking for the Blacklist?" My eyes flicked to the record collection datapad sitting on his desk.

"I assume it has something to do with the next task Phineas would like to send you on. You have several voice messages from him by the way. Would you like me to play them, Captain?" leave it to ADA to make you feel stupid for missing impossible small details.

"Sure, right away!" I rolled my hand in the air to hurriedly prompt her.

"Of course." ADA closed her eyes in a sort of nod. "Message 1 of 4, _[From: Phin] The Blacklist has proven extremely useful in determining potential allies. I appreciate you retrieving it for me on your trip to Terra 2 yesterday._

_[Phin] Alex—I presume I can call you by first name—Seeing as I cannot risk leaving my lab at the moment, can I ask of another favor?_

_[Phin] It is preferably something I would like to ask in person, but seeing as you won't respond, I would like you to locate one of the people on the list. Could you come to my lab as soon as possible so we can discuss this?_

And lastly, Captain, _[Phin] Apologies, I imagine you don't find enjoyment in constant spam, but I find it worrisome that you have not answered my inquiries. Are you quite alright?_"

I stiffened where I stood, "He wants me to meet people potentially—no, certainly—outcasted by the Board?"

"He also expressed worry for you," tweedled ADA, a hint of laughter crackling from her speakers.

Moving quickly, I shot to my desk, sliding into my chair effortlessly and activating my terminal. I pushed the visual of ADA to the side and opened the chat with Phineas. **[From: Alex] Phin, there are UDL enforcers on board the Unreliable, most likely looking for the Blacklist, what is going on?**

Surprisingly, the scientist answered almost at once, **[Phin] By the stars, I thought you were dead! When you did not respond, I directed my long range scanners your way and—**

**[Alex] The point?**

**[Phin] It is indeed a UDL ship.**

**[Alex] What am I supposed to do! **I threw my hands up, anxiety flooding my system.

"Do I detect elevated stress levels?" ADA asked.

"What do you think?!" I shot a glare over my shoulder at her receptor near the door. There was no response from her and she was glancing to the side on screen.

**[Phin] I would greatly desire your survival in this situation. **I was sure he would. I rolled my eyes.

**[Phin] ****Give me a second to think. **Another message did not come through for several minutes.

"Captain, the enforcers have breached the cargo bay." ADA announced. "Do you have any recommendations?"

"No, I don't! I don't even know how many of them there are." I snapped.

ADA looked upward in thought, "There are precisely 5 men on the bridge and 4 more in the cargo bay. One is ascending the ladder to the engine room."

"Do they have a plan?" I wondered, turning from the terminal screen for a second and staring at the door.

ADA thought about it, "It sounds to me like they plan to take out the engines before searching the rest of the ship for a crew. They know you have the Blacklist and they plan to confiscate it before killing everyone on the ship."

"You mean before killing me." I gritted my teeth.

"Precisely!"

_Beep! _**[Phin] Okay, after racking my brain I'm certain I have a solution, but I need to know first how many intruders there are and where they are on the ship?**

**[Alex]**, typing hastily, **Five on the bridge and four in cargo. They're going to render my engines obsolete!**

**[Phin] Here's my suggestion: vent the ship.**

My eyes bulged. **[Alex] Are you crazy? You want me to vent my cargo to the aether?**

**[Phin] It's your only option.**

"But I have enough in there to be worth well over thousands of bits!" I rubbed my hands over my temples and through my curly blonde hair.

A loud bang sounded on my cabin door and I jumped from my chair to face the sound. ADA reacted too, "It appears you have to make a choice _now_, Captain. Two of the officers have approached your door and the lockdown doesn't appear to be slowing them down. They're attempting an override as we speak."

I gave a cursory glance to my bag by the bed to the left of the door. I could snatch the pistol I kept in it and make my stance now, or the less dangerous option would be to vent the ship and lose all the precious cargo not secured. Weighing the choices, I knew some things you just couldn't get out of with bullets. "ADA," I sighed, "Vent the ship."

"Right away, sir." A clang and a yell and then the intruder alert alarms changed to airlock release alarms. There were a few seconds of screaming then nothing. "The ship has been vented. Sealing the airlock now and repressurizing. There are now zero intruders onboard, Captain!" she said happily.

"Yeah, no thanks to the loss of inventory." I rolled my eyes and went back to my terminal.

**[From: Alex] Well. I did it. You did it. Thank you.**

**[From: Phin] Splendid! **I imagined the doctor's eyes twinkling with a triumphant grin on his face. **I trust there were no complications?**

**[Alex] Oh, there were complications. Just them being here is a complication. I lost half my cargo!**

**[Phin] You win some you lose some, the positive thing is you're alive. **There was no way Phin actually cared about my wellbeing, was there?

**[Alex] So what now? Why did they want that Blacklist so bad?**

**[Phin] I can't talk about it over aetherwave, for fear of monitoring. Can you report to my lab as soon as possible?**

I slammed a fist down, frustrated, **[Alex] I'll head over right now if it means you'll tell me what's going on.**

**[Phin] Exactly what I wanted to hear! See you soon. **By all the Laws, this man could be maddening sometimes.

After going to the bridge and playing with the navigation controls for a few minutes, I had Phineas' lab highlighted on the system map. "ADA, set a course for Phin's secret lab."

* * *

"_I hope you weren't followed,"_ Phineas' voice rang out over the base's intercom as I filed down the ramp and into the lab's docking bay. "Tartarus no, I wasn't followed." I rolled my eyes with an irritated grunt.

"Alright, I wanna know what's going on right now." I demanded as I strode into the lab right up to the bullet proof window Phin liked to hide behind.

Phin spun around, not even setting down the tools he was working with. He had a nozzle in one hand, its cord extending down and under a few tables, disappearing beneath them. The other tool was a small screwspanner. His eyes were wide, "I saw your ship dock but it is reassuring to see you in person."

"Right, right," I scowled, "send for me from the Groundbreaker instead of just telling me what you want. I get it."

Phineas' eyebrows creased and he looked around in confusion then set down both tools carefully. He then proceeded to approach the window and touch the glass, "Captain, I sent for you not out of necessity but because I was extremely worried. Was that not clear in my message?"

I frowned, feeling weird all of a sudden, "Um, no it wasn't exactly. It kinda felt more like you only cared I lived so you could continue exploiting me."

"Exploiting? Is that how you see our relationship?" Phineas took a step back, taking his hand from the glass and putting it on his heart. "I thought we were friends."

I shook my head and stomped a foot, "I did too until you demanded I come here right after I was just attacked on my own ship without batting an eye."

Phineas tilted his head, "I've batted both eyes! I wanted you to come here right away so I could make sure you were alright in person."

I narrowed my eyes in uncertainty, "Wait, if you actually cared what happened to me, why didn't you just ask?"

"Just seeing your messages aren't really enough to calm my nerves." Phineas gave a short laugh. "Alex, I'm glad you're okay!"

"Oh. Well thank you." I blinked. Phineas had never seemed inclined to sentiment before, I had just been assuming the scientist was uncaring. Had I been mistaking his indifference for a lack of sympathy? "I suppose it was just a big misunderstanding." my feelings of anger drained away and now I just felt foolish and guilty.

"I get that a lot. I'm not good with people, but I do care Alex. I care a lot." Phin bit his lip and attempted a smile. My heart skipped a beat when I realized the messy haired scientist looked kind of cute. "But back to the matter at hand!" Phineas stepped around a table and picked up what looked like a navkey. He was staring at it with a thoughtful expression as he walked back to the glass with a hand in his light brown hair, "I have composed this navkey for you," he slid it through a delivery slot in the wall where it landed on the same table that a certain gun sat.

My fingers brushed the side of the Shrink Ray on its stand as I picked up the key. "Why are you giving me this?" I asked slowly as I stared at the gun. I had always liked the idea of the gun, but never dared to take it. It would be rude to steal it from someone I considered friend.

Phin noticed me staring at the gun but didn't say anything, "This is going to sound crazy…"

"Everything you say sounds crazy," I winked.

That made Phin laugh, "Yes, I suppose." he cleared his throat, "The key will let ADA navigate to Typhon, near where I believe there to be a hidden base. One of the people outcasted by the Board may reside there and if you will, I'd like you to find out."

I made eye contact, "You're right, that does sound crazy. Typhon is a desolate ice world, way too far from the sun for anyone to live there."

Phineas waved him off, "Oh, I'm sure their base is insulated and has a state of the art life support system."

"But you can't possibly know that."

Phin frowned and looked downward, "Well no." he locked eyes and sighed, "You would be taking a big risk for me, you wouldn't be able to take this decision lightly. Especially not with UDL watching you now."

"I'm going to have to think about it, but I'll take the navkey just in case." I nodded. I turned to go then hesitated and looked back to Phin, "I am sorry I got so mad. I forget sometimes your communication skills can be lacking."

"Don't worry about it, I completely understand!" Phin gave a shy smile. I bit my lip, the young scientist looked adorable. "Do be careful now, Captain."

Why was my heart racing so fast as I made my way back to my ship?


	3. Chapter 3 Ships in the Night

**Chapter 3 **Ships in the Night

"Captain, Udom Bedford is hailing you." the speaker at the end of the table said.

I put down my fork, "ADA, I'm in the middle of lunch." I said around a bite of chicken. It had been a few days since the whole boarding fiasco and I was still mulling over Phineas' request. Or to be more clear, I had been avoiding thinking about it at all. The whole idea of openly defying the Board by helping Phineas gain new allies against them was intimidating to say the least. However, something in me wanted to help the scientist and the thought made me uncomfortable. So instead, I preoccupied himself with taking up jobs from Sublight.

ADA interrupted my musings, "He says it's important."

I jumped up, "You answered him?"

"Of course, Captain. I can always hang up on him." ADA sounded pleased with herself.

"No!" I shouted and leaving my lunch in a rush, I made my way down the hall then down the two sets of stairs to the bridge. Udom's figure was already visible on the communications monitor above the ADA terminal. He smiled when he saw me approaching.

"Alex, by the Laws! You're a busy boy," Udom fluttered his eyelashes and flashed a huge grin. He appeared to be sitting at a desk in his bedroom, a huge purple dressed bed was behind him.

"I apologize, ADA shouldn't have put you through until I gave her permission," I shot a look at her and she avoided eye contact.

"She does seem to have a mind of her own, doesn't she?" Udom shifted in his chair but his expression never faltered.

"I was actually in the middle of lunch." I explained with a polite smile.

"I can see that," Udom chuckled and pointing at his teeth said, "you got a little something."

I picked at my teeth self consciously, "Right, so why have you called?"

"Oh right, silly me," Udom giggled and rolled his eyes. "So I've been absolutely engrossed in work and haven't had time to go over the paperwork you gave me the other day more thoroughly…"

"And?"

"I hate to say this, because you and I are such close friends, but I must point out that I noticed a discrepancy." Udom was now frowning so intensely that it looked like a pout.

I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes, "What…exactly was the discrepancy?"

Udom drew a deep breath, "Well, you failed to report exactly what you collected on Terra 2, and seeing as you were going to sell most of it for profit, a failure to report this information requires I issue a fee. However, I'm willing to go easy on you," he winked at me.

I bit my lip, "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you do look so cute under pressure!" Udom waved a hand and I blushed deeply. Udom flashed that pristine smile again.

ADA smirked, "Don't cause a chemical imbalance in my Captain now, Mr. Bedford."

"ADA!" I felt butterflies in my stomach and returned a sheepish smile to Udom.

"Oh you!" the representative laughed at her. Then his features fell just as quickly as they had lifted, "Anyway, I'm willing to waive your fees if you can bring me everything you collected on your last job." he turned to the side and leaned offscreen for a brief moment. When he returned he had a few papers in hand. He squared them up by tapping them against the surface of his desk as he looked them over, "I've got a list of items you retrieved for Sublight Salvage. Let's see here; a thermal flux coil, a dampening rod, a few Spacer's Choice parts…am I missing anything?" the stare Udom gave him made Alex think he knew about the Blacklist.

"If Sublight hasn't listed anything else then that must be everything." I nodded.

Udom's face lifted, "Eloquent as always, Alex." he wiggled gleefully in his chair as he put the documents away. "I shall be seeing you shortly then?"

"I'll let you know when I'm heading to the Groundbreaker." I confirmed. The transmission ended.

I turned to leave the bridge, thinking to head to the cargo bay when ADA spoke up, "Captain, may I remind you that all the items on that list were vented into space. You only just apprised Lilya of that yesterday."

I froze in my tracks. "Are you absolutely certain we don't have a single item Udom requested?"

"That is correct." I spun around and gripped the edge of the control board below ADA's terminal. "Careful, you may damage me." ADA protested.

I groaned, "Please. Tell me we tagged those for inventory."

"I was keen on reminding you to do just that." ADA tweedled.

I gave her dagger eyes, "But they are tagged, yes?"

"Yes, Captain."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No, Captain."

I stood straight as a rod and proclaimed, "Then pull up their location data, we may be saved just yet!"

"Who said anything about we? You're the one being fined, Captain," ADA said as she looked from side to side, searching for the lost cargo's location simultaneously.

"_We _are in this together, dear ADA, for when I cannot pay my fines I will be arrested, the Unreliable will be impounded and you will be decommissioned. Seeing as…well…you're not exactly a normal ship AI now are you?" I lifted a brow at her with a smug look on my face.

"I suppose you have a point. I do not wish to be decommissioned." She was looking downward, appearing forlorn, when her mouth formed an O and she looked straight at Alex, "Here's all relevant location information on our lost cargo, Captain." the navigation port beeped several times and upon examination I saw a green marker settled within the Scylla asteroid field when I zoomed in.

"It looks like we're going to Scylla."

"Be prepared for primals." remarked ADA. "They can behave quite, well, primitive." We laughed together as I turned the navkey.

* * *

The ship's engines remained idle, blaring a loud whining heat sound they made in that state and emitting a bright orange flaring light. As I stepped down from the boarding ramp, I cocked my Mk 3 Rifle, a unique weapon I created from a fully customized Mk 2 Light Assault Rifle. It had been modded with my unique mods including the capabilities of single shot and semi-auto manual control; allowing me to switch between the two modes, a larger ammo clip, a scope that could zoom in to twice the range of an Mk 2 and a suppressor.

I was proud of it. What could I say, I was a first class tinkerer and scrapper. I'd worked with weapons and armor and many other projects on a Workbench for most of my life. I loved doing it and so continued to do so whenever I got the chance.

I gripped the Mk 3 in front of myself, ready to aim and fire if the need should arise. Whenever travelling outside of Board protected space the need usually did. Scylla was filled with primals and outlaws here to steal what was left of an abandoned mining operation. It had been like that for awhile now. However, the rock was still a high traffic point for the Board as it was still Halcyon property. If UDL believed my cargo to be valuable it may be plausible for them to take it here for discreet delivery to whomever had sent them to retrieve it in the first place. They wouldn't find what they were looking for because I had the record collection datapad on me, not in my lost cargo. I patted my pack to be sure I still had it. I smiled smugly to myself then set off.

Following the glowing purple stripe on the main road, I fetched my datapad from my pocket. I stopped at an intersection and assessed the information being presented to me. On the map of the asteroid a green marker indicated the location of the lost cargo. It seemed to have been moved in the last hour, and was now residing in one of the large terraform stations. I didn't have much knowledge of Scylla, for I preferred to hunt and train on Monarch or Terra 2.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of energy weapon discharge. I looked up from the map and searched for the source of the noise. All I saw were rocks in the immediate vicinity but that didn't mean it wasn't close. The sounds were growing very loud. Then I saw the unmistakable red bursts of light of plasma fire bursts. I gripped my weapon with both hands and moved swiftly to take cover.

Peeking out from behind a huge boulder, I saw three guys in black armor firing at primals. The big gorilla-like beasts were hurling boulders and their strange energy carried with it. A rock hit a guy, throwing him into his fellows like bowling pins. From 9 o'clock came two more men, shooting at the biggest of the primals.

"Idiots," I scoffed with a shake of my head. Then I saw an auto-mechanical enter the fray. It was a curious little fellow, a janitorial unit from the looks of its copper-green armor plating. It appeared to be engaging in combat, however it was only equipped with a S.U.D.S. dispenser. "Strange guy…" I murmured. I had a certain fondness for the mechanical types.

Thankfully the primals appeared to be ignoring the janitor bot, especially as it appeared to be fighting off the men instead of the primals. It must be malfunctioning, and I liked that prospect. _Perhaps I'll salvage him…_I was lost in thought.

"Hey you!" shouted an outlaw, aiming her weapon at me. I blinked, snapping to attention and raising my firearm. "Help us you dolt!" she shouted.

"I'll help myself, thank you very much." I snapped back and sprayed her with a round of bullets.

"Fuck!" yelled one guy to another as the outlaws scrambled to recuperate from the unexpected attack. Plasma bolts soon came my way. Unfortunately my body armor was only made to prevent projectile damage to me, if I was hit with the energy blast I'd be toast.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the smaller primals bash a guy to a pulp with only its fists. "That is gonna hurt in the morning," I winced.

Seeing as the outlaws were more preoccupied with the primals, I made the judgement call to protect the machine unit. It was in the middle of the battle and therefore the most vulnerable. I aimed down the sights at a couple small apes and kept my finger squeezed on the trigger as I put them down. The outlaws would be easy enough to pick off after.

"Who's side is he on?" someone shouted to another.

"I'm on my own side!" I boasted and shot down one of the men firing on me. This was gonna be too easy! I laughed out loud.

It was down to two outlaws, both with no ammo it appeared, and the biggest of the gorillas. The SAM bot was on the fritz, spinning in a circle and spraying soap everywhere. One such blast caught an outlaw in the face and he went down choking on lather. I stuck my tongue out in disgust. _What a way to go._

"All…clean!" said the electronic male voice of the SAM unit, making me to burst into hysterics. Shaking with laughter caused me to misfire and sparks flew off the machine. My eyes widened as I watched it crash down and the S.U.D.S. sprayed full blast in my direction. Luckily instead of hitting me, it hit the last outlaw coming my way with the full force of a firehose. The outlaw flew forward with a yelp and crashed to the ground, dead.

"I've gotta get to that robot," I said to myself, eyeing the unit and pumping the handle on my Mk 3. I switched to single shot and took aim at the primal's face. I gave it a couple bullets, and it went down without a fuss. It was now safe to come out from behind the rock.

Slowly, I rose to a standing position and carefully made my way through the debris field the battle had created. I stepped over the slumped body of a woman, and made my way to the SAM unit. "Malfunction…malfunction…" it repeated over and over, its voice slowly dying with its battery core.

"Here, I've got you," I said under my breath as I knelt. One arm over my knee, I reached for the front panel of the SAM. I pried it open and peered inside. Its guts were a mess of frayed wires and flying sparks. Smoke lifted from the warm metal and I coughed, waving away the impure air. "Well this won't be an easy fix!" luckily I had some tools on my belt. I carried some around just in case. What for was never clear on my adventures, but it was a good thing this time.

The items I had with me were only just sufficient enough to put an end to the malfunction alarm. SAM's eyes went from red to yellow to a healthy lit green again. "Hello…new person…_processing data_…my records indicate…you…_corruption_…are my owner. Is this accurate?" the lens caps over his camera orbs blinked.

"Sure thing," I laughed and grabbed the auto-mechanical's metal hand. I helped it to its feet.

"Then I shall help you clean up." SAM said slowly. "Everybody does their share."

"What were you doing out here, SAM?" I asked.

"All SAM units come fully assembled in a twelve by twelve corrugated steel box!" he said gleefully.

"No I meant…nevermind. You're coming with me though." I waved the unit along as I moved past him. I knew a bot like this would be a handy companion if I was going to be facing UDL. I pulled out my sidearm and looked over my shoulder to the unit, "Here, take this."

"_Scanning…_This does not appear to be a Board sanctioned cleaning spray." his modulated voice sounded skeptical.

"Trust me," I chuckled, "you're gonna want it if you're to clean the filth of this system."

"Updating cleaning protocols." SAM twittered as he accepted the pistol. His extender system locked onto the grip and his metal claw hand interlocked around the trigger. It was crude but I was sure it'd be effective.

They were coming over a crest when I finally saw the largest of the terraforming platforms in the valley below. There was a small one way road leading down to it. There was a docking station that extended outside the Scylla atmosphere shields. I aimed my weapon, peering through the specialized scope at the docking bay. It appeared a UDL ship was indeed situated there and near the bottom at the platform's entrance was a small squadron of enforcers. I moaned, not liking these prospects.

A whirring could be heard, another docking station extending to accept another ship that had just arrived. Then I saw the crates that were stacked up around and near the entrance to the platform. I gritted my teeth, "Rotten bastards have _my _cargo." next to me, SAM stood idle, but it appeared as though the bot was examining its new weapon. _Atta boy_, I smiled.

"Standing by to receive instructions," SAM spoke up suddenly.

My heart skipped a beat, "_Shhh!_" I nearly choked.

"'Shhh' is not a recognized command." SAM said.

There came a shout and then weapons fire. We had been spotted. "Looks like it's now or never," I said as I jumped to my feet and motioned for SAM to follow me down the hill.

"Cleaning protocols engaged." he said as he trotted along behind me. He lifted his newfound gun and fired at the enemy, just as I had wanted. It took the UDL enforcers off guard and in their hesitation me and SAM were able to take out three of them.

"Way to go!" I whooped. It looked like these enforcers were not highly ranked because their black and blue armor was lightweight and they were very bad at aiming. I laughed as me and my new companion easily sprinted down the hill and took out enemies left and right. This battle was much simpler than anticipated.

But I was being too cocky. The doors to the platform opened and an enforcer wearing thick heavy armor stomped out. The rest of the low class enforcers scattered to make way and I stopped in my tracks. "This doesn't look good."

"Allow me to clean up this mess…" SAM said, sounding delighted and droll at the same time. He went in spraying S.U.D.S. with one arm and bullets with the other. I picked off the weaker opponents and let SAM do most of the heavy lifting on the higher ranked officer.

I saw a couple enforcers duck for cover behind my cargo crates. "You're not gonna find what you're looking for in there," I shouted after them, then leapt over some of the barricades and fired at the men blocking the way to my property. "I don't know who authorized you people to retrieve my stuff from space, but I don't appreciate the way this is being handled," I flipped off a couple guys on my left as I shot down one on my right.

Then it was time for the big guy. I wasn't going to get anywhere unless the boss man was taken down. He was in close proximity so I pulled out a sword I'd found in an abandoned antique shop back on Monarch. The blade was modified with plasma and electric charge and could cut through most anything. I preferred not to use it often because it broke easily and repairs were usually costly, but I thought this situation called for it.

Slinging my long gun over my back, I sliced out at the UDL officer. The officer jumped back, but I still managed to cut into the belly of the guy's armor. The officer yelled and brought his own stun baton to rear. "You are violating UDL controlled territory. I can only give you one final warning—" the officer started to say even as he fired plasma bolts at me.

I cut him off, "Right, a warning. Is that what you call stealing my stuff and then shooting at me when I come to pick it up?" it was rhetorical.

"This is under UDL jurisdiction. Back away now!" the officer palmed the baton a few times before advancing on me again.

That's when SAM seemingly popped up out of nowhere and sprayed the officer with soapy water. The water hit the stun baton and the electricity ran down the length and up the officer's arm. He shouted in agony then yelled a few words into his helmet comms before collapsing. I saw the two ships lift off at once. UDL was retreating, at least for the time being. They headed off into the night.

"For crying out loud, they better not have the items on Udom's list onboard." I snapped, feeling irritated. Sheathing my blade I pulled out my datapad again. "Thank the Law that's finally over."

The green marker was still on Scylla, located within a few meters of me in fact. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Just ships in the night…"

* * *

"I trust you retrieved our lost cargo, Captain?" ADA asked as I came back onboard the Unreliable.

I pointed a thumb over my shoulder at SAM, "If there's one thing you can rely on, it's AI." I chuckled.

"AI?" ADA sounded confused, then she saw the auto-mechanical janitor. "Oh, well…I must say…" for once, she sounded at a loss for words. "Captain…what are your current plans with this bot?"

"I think I'll fix him up!" I pointed my index upward in the air at the idea. "Make him more combat ready."

"Sounds fitting," ADA said.

"LOwww _battery…"_ SAM said in a whining tone as he climbed the stairs behind me. His footsteps became more labored too.

"You may need to order him a charging station." she sounded genuinely concerned.

I laughed, "Does somebody have a crush on the new crewmember?"

"What? Me? Never, I have not the capacity for such emotions." that made me laugh even more. "Captain—!" ADA began to protest.

"It's alright, ADA!" I said as I slid into my chair. SAM had stopped at the threshold to my room and was now staring blankly.

"No Captain, you are being hailed by Phineas Welles."

"Then patch him through!"

"No, a video call, on the bridge."

I groaned, feeling exhausted. "Fine." I muttered as I grumpily got up from my seat. I made my way back down to the bridge. "At least get us off this rock," I said as I entered the bridge.

"Right away, Captain." ADA blinked a few times and the ship began its takeoff procedures.

Phin showed onscreen above left to ADA's monitor. "My word you cause quite the ruckus!" was the first thing the scientist said as I came to greet him.

"Good to see you too old friend." I gave a small smile with a shake of my head.

Phin's face then fell, giving me a sinking feeling. There was a chill in the doctor's voice. "We need to talk."


	4. Chapter 4 Breaking Radio Silence

**Chapter 4 **Breaking Radio Silence

"Alex, the contraband you retrieved was being shipped to a UDL office in Byzantium. They've put their own trackers on it and have pinged your ship. If you don't disable them immediately, well then I'm afraid I have very bad news for you." Phin did not look excited.

ADA chirped, "Captain, it appears we are already too late. Two UDL cruisers have arrived via skip jump and are hailing you now."

"Put me on hold if need be necessary." Phin was so dramatic sometimes.

"Go ahead ADA." I nodded at her.

"Putting the commander onscreen now," she blipped and Phin's image was replaced with that of a UDL commander, his helmet removed.

"Hello, what seems to be the problem, officer," I smiled, a little bit jokingly.

"We have tracked the location of contraband cargo to this region of space. You wouldn't happen to be carrying illegal goods on that rustbucket, have you?" The commander was not polite and I did not appreciate his tone.

ADA narrowed her eyes, "I don't appreciate being called—"

"No, sir! Everything I have has been cleared for inspection by Udom Bedford." I yipped, cutting ADA off and trying to appease this man. He was towering and intimidating and I did not need another boarding. I already knew the trouble I'd be in if UDL enforcers decided to legally search my ship.

"Then you don't mind if we come aboard and inspect it then?" asked the officer. Just what I was trying to avoid! I was tempted to yell into the aether. That would get me nowhere, however.

I looked to ADA who was busily avoiding eye contact, being of no help at all. Leave it to her to be ornery at a time of great need. "[Persuasion 20] Actually, sir, if you don't mind; Udom requested I clear it with him first."

The commander paused for a moment, then turned to speak with someone over his shoulder. "Very well, as long as someone is checking in on it. I expect a report to be sent to UDL as soon as your cargo is cleared."

"Sounds good to me! I'll be certain to remember that!" I barked, feeling like a corporate dog, slave to UDL and Board Law. The commander signed off.

"Putting Phineas back on now," said ADA, her eyes looking up and to her right, my left, as she put the live feed of Phin back onscreen.

"Hey, so what did you need to talk about?" I asked him as I watched out my ship's viewport to make sure the UDL ships reentered jump-space and left mine well enough alone.

"You made a huge choice stealing that back from UDL. By my calculations, your reputation with the Board has significantly decreased. It should be better once you return it to Udom but you must not let him see the Blacklist." Phin was very prominent on the secrecy of the list. I wish he'd just tell me what was what.

"And why's that again?" I inquired, just to see how he'd react.

His eyes widened and he waved his hands in protest, "By the stars, boy! If you were to show that to anyone we couldn't trust, I'd lose my head, quite literally! I'm on there you know! Besides, we'd lose our contact on Typhon if the Board knew where she was."

I crossed my arms, "So are you asking me to seek this woman out then? How do you know Typhon is safe?" No way was I going to a desolate ice planet without reassurance.

"I don't!" laughed the mad scientist, "But I have a special pressurized suit made specifically to fit you if you so choose to undertake this mission."

I creased my brows and tilted my head, "Will the suit work?"

"It is 100% untested!" boasted Phineas, not being very reassuring.

I put both hands on my hips, "That isn't comforting. What happens if I accept?"

He blew air through his lips, "Well, I don't know. For one thing, you'd lose all trust you may have standing with the Board, maybe even affiliates. However, it would seem you already lost a lot as apparent by UDL's visit. For another, you would be signing on to commit to my cause. It's a very good cause by the way." he was smiling now, and trying to persuade me to his side. Not very well I might add.

"Yeah, yeah, saving Halcyon yadda, yadda. It's a big task. Let me think about it."

"We haven't much time for you to dwell. By my readings, the station on Typhon will be closing down in less than a day. It's now or never."

I shook my head and sighed, "At least let me bring this cargo back to Udom before my ship is decommissioned and I'm given early retirement." Don't get me wrong, working for the Board was tiring. If Phin was right in all his plans, then I was totally on his side. But the system just didn't revolve that way.

"Wouldn't want that, now would we? Very well! Oh and Alex, do be careful. I want your response in person."

"I will," I told him. Phin nodded and with a wave, he signed off.

With a huge sigh, I gave my ship her new orders, "ADA, navigate to the Groundbreaker."

"Very well Captain, I always follow a direct order."

I shook my head and smiled, "And you say that to me on a daily basis."

ADA looked from side to side, "Just reaffirming the positive."

"If that's another of your jokes, it isn't one of your best!" I laughed as I walked away.

"I was not trying to be funny," she argued as I walked up the stairs to my room.

I plopped down onto my bed, feeling ready to pass out on the spot. "Wake me when we arrive," I said and closed my eyes.

"It'll be in just over an hour, Captain. Setting an alert now."

* * *

Udom was even more inclined to dramatics in person than he was over communications. He fluttered his eyelids when I greeted him, even though my initial statement was for him to view my logs and have someone retrieve the cargo from the Groundbreaker's docking bay. I had already lugged everything on his list off of my ship, but the Blacklist remained in a drawer in my bedroom.

"You're looking a little worse for wear!" he threw up his arms and stood to shake my hand.

"I just want to get all this over with." I groaned.

He pouted, "Oh Alex, let me buy you a drink, I think you've outdone yourself!"

"A drink would be swell," I said without thinking, not realizing what I had just agreed to.

"Great! Say, in a few hours? I have my break then." Udom was all smiles, like a little puppydog, but there was no way I had time to go out if I was to undertake Phin's task. However, with this man, there was no backing out of an agreement and technically I had just said yes.

"I'll be busy in a few hours…" I sighed, "any way you can take your break early."

Udom frowned, looking down at his terminal and slowly sinking into his chair. "Well…if I push that back and move this forward…" he looked up at me and gave me those cute longing eyes he liked to make, "Give me a moment to file the necessary documents and then I shall meet you at the Lost Hope."

"Very well, I'll stay on the Groundbreaker for one more hour. I need to resupply anyway." I told him.

"Oh, and Alex, it is my treat so don't go getting drunk without me!" Udom giggled.

"No promises," I smiled and shot him finger guns as I backed out of his office.

* * *

I looked up from a drink I'd been harboring when Udom finally walked in about half an hour late. I was staring at the news bulletin when I saw him from the corner of my eye. I read the time was 2:30pm Groundbreaker Actual Time (GAT), which I knew was a reflection of Byzantium Primary Time and the reason why it was depicted directly above 2:30pm BPT. Groundbreaker's orbit usually aligned with Byzantium, which is why the news here reflected both digits. That being said, Udom had promised to meet me here by at least 2 o'clock.

"You're late," I grumbled as he slid into a stool beside me and signaled the bartender.

"I am sorry, it's very difficult to request break time be pushed back when dealing with the Board. Sometimes I hate them as much as the next guy." he looked around cautiously then smiled cheekily and asked, "Can I still buy you a drink?"

"I already had two," I started to say but Udom cut me off before I finished and told the bartender,

"Two drinks please, on me." he giggled when he heard me, "Oh, Alex, one can never have too much fun when they're on break. You deserve to relax every once and awhile."

"Yes, but I have a meeting that is crucial I make. I can't be sitting here all day," I moaned, trying to get him to understand the importance of my time. By the Law, he was all good and funny sometimes, but this was one of those times he was not.

He waved a hand through the air and chuckled, "Meeting schmeeting, you know how many I had to cancel just to be here right now? Loosen up!"

I sighed, "Alright, one drink." but the drink that came was a tall one.

"You know, in Byzantium, the wealthy are celebrating one of Earth's favorite holidays," said Udom as he picked up his mug and looked into it.

"This drink looks expensive!" I gasped as I realized it was some sort of thick and creamy beverage. Milk based products were hard to come by in Halcyon, making their price less affordable.

"I'm one of those wealthy citizens you know," Udom told me and tossed a couple of large bit cartridges at the bartender. The numbers listed looked big enough to carry a large tip for two people and included the drink cost.

"What in Tartarus are you thinking?!"

"I'm thinking you drink your cream-nog and relax. I won't keep you here past 4 at the latest." Udom pushed my drink toward me. "My gift to you at the very least."

"Gift? Since when does the Board do anything for free?" I questioned him, not quite trusting his generosity.

"For you, I'd do anything." Udom smiled. "Maybe even break a few Laws. Hehe."

I picked up my drink and sipped tenderly. It was a rich sweet taste that was instantly satisfied by the burn of bourbon. I loved the way it washed back down my throat and I began to drink more freely. "Mmm! How can a drink be so good!" I set my mug down, realizing I had drank more than half.

"A refill! For my hearty friend!" Udom was laughing his ass off as he flagged down the bartender yet again.

"Oh, I don't need another…" the refill had already been poured by the time I told anyone I didn't need more. It would be my fourth drink. The bartender gave me a knowing smile. "Oh, alright!" I tossed this one back too, but left it about half full. Then I burped, feeling the full effects of four alcoholic beverages in just 2 hours worth of time. I tried to read the clock but couldn't see that far away anymore. I attempted to stand and nearly fell flat on my face if not for Udom standing and catching me.

"What time is it? I need to get back to my ship!"

"It's still only 2:45," said Udom. "You weren't kidding when you said you already had some. I apologize for my oversight." I was doubling over but trying to stand. Udom had both hands on me.

"You, an apology?" I looked up at him. "Where are we going?"

"I have 15 minutes left on my break I don't intend to waste. You need some water, which is not served here. Come now." he was saying but his words were jumbled and not making much sense to me, plus he hadn't answered my question. I was feeling nauseated as we made our way to a door in the back. I had never seen this door.

"Can we use this door?" I asked, hiccuping.

"Can you keep your voice down? Of course, I can use this door. Technically taking you is against policy, but just this once shall be fine." Udom explained.

"Where are you taking me?" I questioned him, demanding answers. The door had already slid open—time seemed warped somehow—and we were walking down a long, dimly lit corridor.

"These tunnels lead to a back entrance into my chambers. Not to worry, I'll have you sitting and drinking water in no time!" he exclaimed. That really wasn't what I was getting at but at least he'd answered the question.

"I can walk just fine!" I pulled away from him and nearly crashed into the far wall. "Okay, maybe it was helpful of you to carry me like that, but I'm just fine. Let me get my bearings."

"Not to worry, like I said, because we are already here!" he slid a keycard down a slot next to a door and it hissed open on its hydraulics. Inside was that purple bed I remembered from our video chats, on the right from where we came in, and there was that desk, neatly organized and tidy, on the left. He brought me to the bed, where I carefully sat down.

He pulled away but my hand gripped his, "Thank you."

"There really is no problem, not for you." He put one hand on my face before turning around, "I'm going to get you some water from the washroom, I'll be right back." I sank into the bed, never having felt anything as comforting as this. It didn't even have one of those standard white frames that encircled the bed, like on my ship. My ship was pea sized in comparison to the Groundbreaker; even the beds in Rest-n-Go were 1 star compared to this. It was all silk and velvet and soft bedspreads here.

I had pushed myself all the way back to the abundant cache of pillows near the back, where the frame did encompass the headrest area, but it was gold plated instead of standard white. Udom really was rich. Speaking of, the short man came bustling out of the bathroom, carrying a tall glass of water. "I'm glad your comfortable Alex. If only you'd tell me where Phineas was and then I could see about setting you up with similar accommodations."

"I've told you time and time again I have no-*hiccup!*-idea where Phineas Welles is." I pointed a drunken finger at him and explained. Must be secret, must keep my friend's privacy. My drunken fit would not ruin him.

"No matter then." Udom shrugged. He handed me the glass of water which I immediately chugged to empty. "Oh! By the Law, don't make yourself sick!" as ever, the dramatic one.

"I won't get sick," I stuck my tongue out at him.

Udom flicked my bangs from my eyes, "No, it never seems like it with you does it? Your adventures across the system must've built you quite the immune system, hmm?"

"I'm a smuggler…ahem—salvager, not a doctor. But I imagine I do indeed have a great immune system!" I laughed and he smiled at me, his hand lingering. I stared into his eyes, not wavering.

He withdrew his hand. "My strong Alex, as always." why was my heart racing? I wasn't so drunk as to not notice when my pulse got the better of me. I was blushing and so was he.

"I um…better get back to the Unreliable," I told him.

"That you must." he nodded in agreement. He looked disappointed somehow.

"Schedule another meeting soon?" I asked.

"Sure, sure…" his voice was quiet as he paced back to his desk…

* * *

"Phineas Welles here, mad scientist extraordinaire!" cackled the doctor as I pulled him up onscreen. We were video chatting from my terminal in my bedroom aboard the Unreliable.

"Haha, very funny."

"What brings you to my corner of the galaxy?" asked Phin. _Maybe I'll finally steal your shrink gun. _I thought to myself.

"I just got out of a very awkward meeting with Udom Bedford. He asked about you yet again, and I was so drunk!"

Phin's eyes widened, "You didn't…did you?"

"Tell him your location? No! You're my friend, I would never."

Phin nodded and sighed, "As long as you weren't followed you're clear to dock. Come on in, Captain!" we disconnected and I looked over to ADA's viewport. "Take her down!"

* * *

As usual, Phin had some strange tools in his hands as he worked on a suit in his sealed off lab. "Now, I don't normally do this but…I'm going to have to come out of my chamber to give you this outfit. I may need to make some adjustments so you just stand still." the door on the side of his chamber hissed open and he gathered up a bundle of blue linen. Or the suit I imagined, realizing what it was now and seeing the sleeves.

"This, my friend, is a mock spacesuit," he told me as he led me to another corner of his ever ginormous laboratory. "I've modified it to protect you from the ice as well as other elemental damage, including plasma and electricity. It's also bulletproof so whatever dangers you may face you shall be well protected. You need not any armor but your Captain's uniform shall do just fine." he was busily measuring my body, including my waist and height as well as chest and neck. "I'm sorry for any uncomfortable touching but I must make sure my measurements are precise or I don't know how effective the suit will be."

"Not a probl_eeem!_" my voice squeaked as his hands brushed by my crotch and the measuring tape squeezed my balls. "By the stars!" I gasped as he looked up at me and gave a horrendous chuckle.

"Bites, don't it?" he stuck his tongue out at me and straightened up. "That should be all. I'll just make the proper adjustments before you try it on." he lingered for a moment in front of me, his nose inches from mine. He was in my personal space, but he had just touched my private areas with his measuring tape so I wasn't about to make any sudden moves. He blushed and backed away almost instantaneously. "Terribly sorry, my apologies," as he spun on his heel and avoided all eye contact.

I felt my face grow warm as something else also slowly grew. "Hey, don't even worry about it! Not a single problem!" the corner of a table covered for me when he turned back around and asked me to put on the spacesuit.

"No need to remove any clothing! It's all fit to cover you and your uniform. It's quite insulated and has it's own inner thermal system so you can adjust the temperature to your every need." he was staring pointedly at my waist.

"You sound like an advertisement."

"Hard not to when you're quite proud of you accomplishments." he beamed with eyes closed and yellowed teeth showing before he stared into my eyes again. By the Law, he was so cute!

As I tried the suit on, Phin talked, "I broke radio silence with our contact on Typhon and she appears willing to meet. However, a few outlaws in her company appear to have turned on her and she's stuck in the base. She needs immediate assistance before operation shutdown time or UDL will be on to us."

"Why would they turn on her?"

"My best bet is that they were UDL enforcers acting as double agents in her company," Phin said as his gaze traveled from my face to my crotch again. "Quite the bulge…" his voice grew quiet as he spoke under his breath through gritted teeth and blushed again.

"My eyes are up here," I winked at him and his face went red as plasma.

"Just a few more adjustments for the helmet…" he measured my neck again, then put the measuring tape against my temples and leaned in close. Again his nose was inches from mine and I stared at his lips. He looked into my eyes and brought the measuring tape away. Dropping it he brushed a hand through his brown hair and began to lean toward me.

"Your cute when you're mousy, but back up a little, doc," I told him.

"My apologies! I thought I had more last minute measurements but I already knew your helmet size precisely! Perks of having such a strong memory and high intelligence!" he went to retrieve the helmet. There he was bragging again! Typical Phineas.

I smiled, "Don't even worry about it. I'm happy to be here and help you, as long as this suit works exactly as intended."

"Sorry for my social awkwardness. I just want this to go off without a hitch." Phineas was back with my helmet.

"Me too!" I nodded and took the matching blue helmet from him.

As I put it on he explained some of the dials and attachments, "This here clicks into place and hisses when it's locked and pressurized. This dial on the right side controls temperature and on the left, you have a speaker and a light."

I unlocked the helmet and took it off, "This seems perfect, doc."

"Alex, do be careful. I can't reach our contact anymore and I don't know the current situation. I care about you, so come back in one piece." Phin was frowning and his eyes were watery making them look shiny. It wasn't everyday Phin showed genuine concern for the wellbeing of others like that and I was caught off guard.

"I'm always careful. I can handle a few UDL enforcer and rogue outlaws." I winked and turned to head out, helmet under my arm.


	5. Chapter 5 Don't Let it Get to You

**Chapter 5 **Don't Let it Get to You

"Captain, we have successfully reached Typhon, as I thought we may. Would you like me to land at the designated coordinates?" ADA said with the prompt measure as we entered Typhon space. She was always so self assured, and it was a good thing. It made me feel confident in my ship's capabilities.

"Yes, ADA, this is one mission we should land immediately," I explained and she chirped. The ship descended to the ice planet and I watched it get bigger and bigger in my viewport. I turned away from the window and picked up my pistol.

"Are you expecting resistance?" ADA inquired. I looked over to her terminal as I passed by the bridge.

"I am. Too bad I didn't finish copying your mind drive, I would've loved a companion down there. We'll have to see to that next time." I cocked the pistol and checked the clip. Fully loaded and ready to go, just the way I liked it. I shoved the mag back into place.

"I can always finish the download while you're away." ADA looked toward me, always able to see me through the yellow cameras scattered about the ship.

"That would be great!"

* * *

The suit Phin had made for me wasn't as good as he thought in keeping me protected against the weather. I had the heat turned all the way up and I still had to put a coat over it. It was snug, as it wasn't made to fit over a layer of clothes and a thin spacesuit, but I made it work. I had to try not to let it get to me, I'd survived worse.

At least the air was filtered nicely. I breathed deeply and felt the icy atmosphere hit my lungs. My oxygen tanks were freezing cold, but it would have to do. I could already see the secret base and I wondered who I'd be meeting here. Then I noticed a UDL cruiser parked right outside, the ramp down and nobody around. "I've got a bad feeling about this one." I groaned.

I hoisted my long gun, keeping it at the ready. I knew this was my point of no return, where I went from salvager to smuggler. Perhaps if I did end up in a firefight, leaving no witnesses to my crimes would keep me in the clear with the Board. One could only hope.

I crawled forward on the ridge and used binoculars to zoom in on the door. No one was visible but my infrared sensors picked up on 2 people just inside. "Alright, Hawthorne, you got this." I breathed in then out, regulating my breathing and pumping myself up for the battle I knew was to come. It looked like either UDL was on to the outlaw operation here, or whoever was inside was very good at keeping up appearances. It was going to be very hard to determine friend from foe.

I grabbed hold of the ridge then flipped my legs over, sliding down on the ice and coming to a stop at the bottom. "Here we go…" I holstered my pistol and walked up to the door.

That's when the door opened and I stopped in my tracks. "Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?" a UDL officer greeted me.

"Well nice to see you too," I looked at his name tag, "Patrick. I'm here to deliver these UDL weapons to my contact here."

"Paisley is in her office. Do you have documentation?" asked the officer. I saw him slowly reaching for his gun.

"Oh um! [Lie 30] No sir, this is a delivery from Sublight. No proper documentation was given to me, the idiots."

"Okay, I suppose I can let you pass." the officer eased up, dropping his hand and moving to the side to let me pass. I walked right in and turned the corner.

"Wait! Where'd you get that suit?! It doesn't look like Sublight gear…" but I was already long gone before he could ask another question.

* * *

The office door was open and a woman with blonde curls was visible inside. She was talking with someone in UDL armor and I waited for the conversation to pause before I interjected with, "Good afternoon, Paisley. I have a delivery for you." she looked up, surprised at my sudden arrival, her mouth in an O shape and her eyes wide.

"Would you excuse me Regional?" she asked the regional officer.

"Yes ma'am." he lowered his clipboard, "You've already signed everything that needs to be signed anyway." he left the office, shoving past me.

"Rude! Amiright?" I entered the office.

Paisley pressed a button on her desk and the doors slid shut behind me and I heard the locking mechanism click into place. "Who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" she snapped, lifting a gun and pointing it at my chest."

"Is it safe to speak freely in this office?" I asked her, putting my hands up.

"This is the only place in the entire base where it's safe to speak freely! Now explain yourself before I pull this trigger and end your life." she was snarling at me.

I took my helmet off. "I am Captain Alex Hawthorne of the Unreliable. I'm here to pick you up and take you to Phineas."

She lowered her gun and let out a huge sigh of relief, "Oh thank the stars he finally sent someone. This operation was on the verge of discovery. I just barely managed to convince those UDL assholes to let me shut down before they could do an inspection." she set her gun down on the table. "What's the extraction plan?"

"I imagined we could just walk out of here." I made a walking gesture with two fingers in the air.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she threw her hands up. "Just my luck! UDL decommissions my ship, expecting me to take a ride with them and this dumbass's plan is to just walk right out the front door. By the Law, think Paisley, you've been in tougher spots than this, right?" she was rubbing her hands through her hair.

"Okay, I can tell your stressed, but trust me, I've talked down plenty of UDL officers in my time. We'll be fine!"

"You idiot!" she snapped, "You think UDL is gonna look the other way when they see me climbing the crest with a Sublight salvager?"

I lifted my hands in self defense, "Okay, okay. So maybe it's not foolproof. But I can make it."

She gritted her teeth and hissed, "You are dumber than you look if you think you have enough charisma to charm Regional Mayes. He's tougher than the hardest rock."

"Ah, I see. Then how about we just sneak past them?"

She threw her hands up, "There's no sneaking past these cesspools. They even catch an inkling of betrayal and it's all guns ablazing." she rolled her eyes and picked up her own gun, holstering it. "Guess I'll just have to trust you."

"Do you have any writ of transfer documents?" I asked her.

"No, but I could print some. We'd have to get to the copying machine though. Any wrong action…" she stroked the handle of her blaster and stared up at the ceiling in thought.

"So we sneak to the copying room, grab the documents, fill them out and then it's smooth sailing."

"That's if Mayes approves them. You'd have to convince him to sign the documents and he's not an easy man to please."

"Does he accept bribes?" I asked her.

She laughed, "Who the hell doesn't? But his price is steep. You got those kinda bits on you?"

"I work for Sublight, what do you think?" I smirked at her.

"Alright, good. You're gonna need a new spacesuit though, it's so obvious you aren't working for Sublight in that." Paisley snorted and stared at my outfit.

"I know, where do you think I got it?" I rolled my eyes but laughed along with her. "But I can't trade it out, this one is bulletproof according to Phin."

"Okay, I'll take you to the copying room then. Let's go." she moved past me and unlocked the door, retrieving a small briefcase from a little stand next to the exit.

The hallway was empty except for one patrolling UDL enforcer. Man, I hated those guys. I really hope a firefight didn't break out. I couldn't afford for my spacesuit to be damaged. I really hoped Phin was right about the bulletproof thing. I was counting on it if a firefight broke out. I was super on edge around all these officers and enforcers. I was worried that one of them was bound to notice the rogue nature of the suit. Luckily they all seemed to be preoccupied.

The copying room was empty, as it looked like the base was being cleared out. Paisley had told me she was shutting down operations. "Okay, here's the deal. You're going to have to watch for enforcers to make sure no one is coming this way. Technically all operations have been signed off as shut down so using the printer is now illegal." Paisley rushed over to a terminal and began typing rapidly.

I went to the door and watched the hall. No one as of yet, and Paisley was still typing. Just then a UDL officer turned the corner. He looked like he was on a patrol route, whistling the tune to the Spacer's Choice jingle. "You might wanna hurry it along!"

"I got it! Printing now."

"Hey! What are you two doing in here?" asked the officer. Paisley rushed forward, shoving me back so I could retrieve the documents and fill them out.

"Oh um, just making sure the lights were turned off. Nothing to see here." Paisley kept the officer from entering the room.

I picked up a pen and rapidly began filling out the request for transfer to make Paisley a part of my crew. I flipped the pages and signed at least a dozen signatures before it was finally over. "Just hurry it up in here, would ya? The Regional would like to get going."

"I understand that! I wanna get going too!" she waved me on and I folded up the papers, shoving them into my pocket. The officer stepped into the room

"Uh huh…well, get these lights off and get going then." he turned about and left.

"Phew!" Paisley wiped a cold sweat from her forehead. "That was too close. You got those papers yet?"

"Of course! Now let's go find the Regional."

* * *

Regional Mayes was pacing in front of his ship. "Oh finally! Took ya long enough. Let's get a move on people, Paisley's finally done wrapping things up."

Paisley stopped in front of him, "Oh, actually sir, Captain Hawthorne has requested my assistance on his ship. We have transfer documents in order here." I passed the papers over to Mayes and he eyed them.

"Not sure how you got these, but if you expect me too—"

I cut him off, "I've got the bits, sir, if you've got the time to sign."

He looked up and smirked at me, "How much are we talking?" he began reaching for a pen in his front pocket.

"[Bribe] How does 2000 bits sound, sir?"

"That sounds mighty fine!" he grinned and clicked his pen. "Let's see here, where do I sign?"

"Sign here," said Paisley, "and here, and there. Okay! We're all good."

I passed the man his bit cartridge and said, "Thank you for approving the transfer."

"Paisley is a very proficient employee, you've chosen well, boy." Mayes had a sadistic grin on his face as he pocketed my bits and the paperwork. He saluted Paisley, "Until we see each other next, Paisley Adams."

"Yessir!" she nodded and we watched as UDL got on their ship. The boarding ramp folded up and they launched.

"Let's get off this rock." Paisley said as she turned to me.

"Don't forget, I just made you part of my crew."

"Oh, this is a favor, I never wanted to board that UDL cruiser in the first place. I'll gladly join your crew." she spoke as she followed me up the ridge.

"What was your operation here anyway?" I asked her as the boarding ramp to the Unreliable folded up behind us and I was finally able to take off this stuffy spacesuit. It had actually grown rather hot without my noticing. Phin hadn't been messing around with the heating system.

"On Typhon? Oh, a team of scientists found deposits of dimethyl sulfoxide in the ice and I was sent by Sublight to extract as much as I could right under their noses. Phineas is about to pay me handsomely," she lifted the suitcase to indicate she had the dimethyl sulfoxide with her.

"You do know that once you hand that briefcase over you'll be joining our side?" I asked her.

"I work for Sublight, the only side I'm on is my own. But yes, I am a part of your crew now, ain't I?" she smiled smugly at me and ran a hand through her curly bangs. I watched her turn about on her heel and enter one of the crew cabins.

"That one is going to be a handful, isn't she Captain?" asked ADA as I sat down at my desk.

"That she is, ADA, that she is."

"Just don't let it get to you." she told me, and I stared pointedly at her camera.

"Always full of good advice, are you?"

"Positively certain I'm full of whatever I've been programmed to be full of." ADA made a laugh like noise through the speaker.

"Let me fill out my logs and then head to bed. I'd like to be at Phin's lab by morning however."

"Will do Captain." ADA said and with that, all was silent.


	6. Chapter 6 Saving Mr Whitney

**Chapter 6 **Saving Mr. Whitney

"Now arriving at Phineas' Secret Lab." ADA informed me as I looked out the viewport on the bridge. Paisley had a cup of coffee she was sipping on as she wandered onto the bridge. "Phin is hailing us."

"Put him on."

"Good morning, Captain! Ah, I see you recovered Paisley. Very good." Phin greeted me.

"Wow, so this is where he's been hiding out all this time." she was all smiles as she stared in awe at the asteroid like enclosure the old storage facility was hiding in. This place was hidden deep within the rings of Terra 2, the belt obscuring any signals Phin might want to send out.

"Am I going to have to make you sign a non-disclosure agreement?" asked Phin, staring at her.

"I'm a Sublight salvager, non-disclosure is my middle name. I run with Alex now, you don't gotta worry!" she took another sip of her coffee.

"Is it safe to dock?" I asked the scientist.

"Of course, of course! Do come in. I'm glad to see you safe, Alex." he smiled warmly. "Does Paisley have the dimethyl sulfoxide with her?" of course he would immediately jump to that.

"Commencing docking procedures," said ADA.

"Yes I sure do! And you have the payment you promised?" she had a brow raised and hands on hips.

"Yes ma'am!" he shouted and gave her a salute. "She's sassy, I like it."

"And we're getting straight to business, aren't we?" I asked him as the ship jostled to a halt in the facility's hangar bay.

"Well, I do have another job for the two of you, if you're up to it." Phin frowned. "But do come in, I want to make sure you're fine, Alex." the view screen went dark.

"Connection terminated." ADA informed me.

"He really seems to care about you, doesn't he?" Paisley looked at me as she emptied her mug, then looking into it and tipping it upside down.

"I suppose so. It's rather adorable, don't you think?" I chuckled as we deboarded.

"If you think that man is adorable, you're beyond saving." Paisley laughed as she set her mug down on a random shelf and jogged to catch up to me.

_He is kinda cute… _I couldn't help but think it as I looked at his mousy features and his scraggly brown hair. I liked the way the light hit his eyes…was I developing a crush for this man? I bit my lip as I approached him. "Hey Phin!" my heart rate sped up.

"Alex, so good to see you! Paisley, yes!" he smiled at both of us.

His smile grew wider when Paisley lifted the briefcase, "I got it boss man! Half a liter of dimethyl sulfoxide. It should be more than enough to do with what you please."

His smile dropped instantly at the mention of using the chemical. "Ah yes, that. This is where your new mission comes in. I need you two to retrieve for me a small passenger vessel left abandoned by UDL ages ago. It's deep in UDL space so the mission will be very dangerous. Once you steal the vessel, I'll need it brought back here. Unfortunately the ship's AI was decommissioned long ago so you're going to need a pilot."

"Where in Halcyon are we going to find someone who can pilot a passenger ship?" my jaw dropped.

"Close your mouth, it's not a good look on you," Paisley whispered.

"Ah yes, if you want to find a reliable pilot, I believe Gladys on the Groundbreaker has some useful information. I'd go and see her first." Phineas advised.

"Okay, then that's my next stop." I nodded.

"It'd be good for me to fill up on supplies too!" Paisley nodded in excitement.

"Good luck!" Phin called to me, a concerned look on his face. I nodded back at him, and he blushed as he made eye contact.

"I'll be careful, don't you worry. Next time you see me, that ship will be in tow."

* * *

"Now arriving at the Groundbreaker, commencing docking procedures. Captain, Udom Bedford is hailing you." ADA said to me.

"Put him on." I nodded to her and Udom appeared on screen.

"Hello dear Alex!" he boasted, "I hear you've got a new shipmate!"

"That I do." I nodded and smiled at him.

"Then congratulations! It's always good when you've got the money to hire an employee." Udom was all smiles.

"Was there another reason you called, or were you only calling to congratulate me?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, that…Well, I heard UDL talking and I don't think they like you much. I'd be careful around them. I'm very concerned for your safety." Udom was twiddling his thumbs as he avoided eye contact.

"I'm always careful."

He nodded, "Okay, well, my break time's almost up. I just wanted to relay those two things."

"Thank you Udom." I grinned and he perked up.

"See you around, Captain." he signed off.

I turned from the screens and left the bridge. Paisley was just joining me, pulling on a light Ports of Call coat. "Oh, I can't wait to go shopping!" she exclaimed. "I haven't been on the Groundbreaker in oh…seems like so long. Plus, I've got all these bits from the Typhon job it's time to cash in on."

"Sounds like you've got a day planned." I gave her a smile.

She smiled back, "Oh that I do, my friend, that I do."

"Meet me back here at 2 o'clock Actual?"

"Two o'clock Actual, got it, Captain!" she ran off as we descended the ramp and I had to laugh.

* * *

Gladys had a little hideout in one of the rooms in Rest-N-Go. The door was open so I walked in. "Gladys?" I asked the elderly woman sitting at the desk.

"That would be me, what can I do ya for, dear?" the lady adjusted her glasses and peered up at me.

"Phineas sent me. I'm looking for a pilot."

"A pilot? Let me see if I've got this right…You're looking for a pilot to navigate that decommissioned passenger vessel out in UDL space, right?"

"That's right."

"I'd look down in Fallbrook. There's a lad there who used to pilot gunships for UDL. Said he never did believe in ship AI's." Gladys smiled and looked off to the side as she remembered the man fondly.

"Fallbrook, got it. What can you tell me about the section of space I'll be heading into once I've got the pilot with me?"

Gladys pursed her lips, "Well, dear, I can tell you it's tough terrain. You're bound to catch the attention of some UDL gunships. You may want to bring proper documentation, which would be hard to obtain, considering."

"Where could I get ahold of the paperwork?"

"My, aren't you all business, dear!" she laughed, "I like that. You know there really is no rush." she looked at a couple of her friends as she continued to chuckle.

"Sorry, I'm just very anxious."

"Understandably. Just take deep breaths! Youngsters these days." she shook her head and smiled. "I'd go and see Lilya. She'd know where to get you copies of the vessel rights. They'd be illegally obtained of course…"

"Yet Sublight always manages to get away with it."

"Exactly!" Gladys smiled. "Now, will there be anything else? I've got a lovely blanket for sale I just finished crocheting."

"No thank you, but I appreciate the offer." I waved as I walked out the door.

* * *

Lilya was uptight as usual when I entered her office. "Ah Hawthorne, you're back. Heard you've been contracting with Phineas Welles. You realize he's a little crazy in the head right. But hey, I'm not one to judge."

"It pays good bits." I shrugged.

"How's ADA? You restore her to factory settings yet?" Lilya smirked up at me from her desk.

"No, and you know I don't plan on it. I like her just the way she is."

Lilya rolled her eyes, "Suit yourself. So, what can I do for you? Looking for more work?"

"Actually, I already have another job, but I need some assistance." I told her.

She sat back in her chair, "I'm interested, do go on."

"I need to obtain the title for a decommissioned passenger ship out in UDL space."

"Oh, I see. Pink slips! I can put a request in for ya. I won't ask who you're procuring this ship for, but I am curious."

"Let's just say it's a bit more of a shady job than most."

"I like it already!" she laughed and finished signing her name on something. "Take this to Udom Bedford. He likes you. Should give you those pink slips you're looking for." she handed me the paperwork she'd just filled out.

"Thanks, as always, Lilya."

"Come back when you're done, I may have more work for you, if you haven't gotten yourself killed that is!" she laughed as I left the office.

* * *

My stomach rumbled as I entered Udom's office. I stared up at the large red tapestries as I walked in. Halcyon Holdings liked to be flashy. It was in your face every single time. "Hello! Alex! What brings you in today?" Udom grinned and swivelled a little in his chair as he brought a hand up to his chin.

"I have an acquisition request form here from Lilya." I said, passing over the paperwork.

"Oh! That sounds nice, what are we acquiring today?" Udom winked and shuffled through the papers.

I laughed, "I need to get the title for an abandoned passenger ship."

Udom looked up and frowned at me, "The one deep in UDL space? Whatever for? You know it was abandoned for a reason, right?"

I bit my lip. "[Persuade 40] Sublight needs it to transport a huge load of cargo from that section of space and gaining ahold of that particular ship would be the easiest way to do it."

"I don't see any paperwork for cargo here, but if you do me one small favor, I'll approve this request and sign the title over to you." Udom smiled at me.

"What's the small favor?" I pursed my lips in anticipation for something big.

"I'd like to know the location of Phineas Welles. You know how my supervisors can be."

My eyes widened and I shook my head, "You know I don't know that information! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Oh come on!" Udom waved the paperwork around in a dismissive gesture, "You work for Sublight. One of those vagrants must know something!"

"We aren't vagrants and I'm not going to go poking my nose where it doesn't belong." I crossed my arms.

"Okay, okay, I can tell that you're getting upset." Udom set the acquisition forms down and picked up a pen. "How about this, you meet me at the Lost Hope later tonight, after all your work is finished, and we'll call it even."

"What, are you trying to get me drunk again?" I chuckled. "I'm not opposed to drinks."

"I'm buying of course!" Udom smiled and handed me the signed paperwork. "See you later." he fluttered his eyelids at me.

* * *

Paisley was waiting by the Unreliable boarding ramp when I walked up. "Man am I hungry Cap'n." she held up a sack full of food she must've bought. "I'm ready to get into that kitchen of yours and cook us up a meal."

"You cook?" I asked her as we walked up the ramp and into the ship.

"What? Dimethyl sulfoxide mining management isn't all I'm good for. My crew was well fed on Typhon." she gave me a sidelong glance as the door sealed shut behind us.

"Captain, I am pleased to inform you that I finished installing SAM's personality drive. He should be fully operational once he's fully charged. Shall I place an order for a charging station?" ADA asked as we came onboard.

"Go ahead, ADA!" I called to her as I followed Paisley into the kitchen where she turned on a burner and set a skillet down.

"I make a mean boarstwurst scramble, if I do say so myself." She snickered as she plopped some boarstwurst and veggies into the pan. "It's hard to come across some good ingredients but luckily the Auntie Cleo restaurant had some frozen boarstwurst in stock!" Paisley seemed proud of herself as the meat began to sizzle in the pan. It smelled good.

I went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of Rizzo's Purpleberry Punch and poured myself a glass. "You thirsty?" I asked her.

"Hell yeah I am!" she grabbed the pan's handle and shook it in the air to toss the food and caught it again in the pan before setting it down on the heat and turning to me. I poured her glass and she took it from me. "Any vodka to spike this with?" she winked but was being rhetorical.

"Not at the moment. Udom wants to get me drunk later apparently!" I shook my head with a smile on my face.

"That sounds like fun!" she laughed with me. "So what's the plan for the day, Cap?"

I grabbed some plates and she dished up the steaming hot scramble. Boy, did it smell amazing. "My plan is to head into Fallbrook to meet up with a pilot there."

"Wait…Fallbrook? Pilot? Did you happen to get the name of this pilot?" Paisley was narrowing her eyes.

"No, actually. I forgot to ask," I frowned, looking down into the purple liquid in my glass and taking a bite of Paisley's food. "Oh, shit!" I said around the hot food in my mouth. "This is so good!" I had to blow some air through my mouth to cool it down before chewing and swallowing. "But hot!"

Paisley cracked a smile but it quickly fell. After swallowing a bite she said, "Cap'n, if the pilot is who I think it is, I've got history with him."

"Who is he?" I asked.

"Walter Whitney. He used to fly manual controlled gunships before AI was invented. We used to date. Then he tragically broke my damn heart when he left to join the movie industry and his fame got the better of him. He's now a wealthy retiree living in Fallbrook, his old stomping grounds." Paisley had a snarl on her face and she chugged her drink like it was alcohol. "Laws be damned, you need to buy some vodka!"

"I'll bring some back after my visit with Udom." I told her.

"Good. So Fallbrook?" she had set her drink down and was gripping her arm, looking self conscious. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to sit this one out."

"If he broke your heart for some pig-headed movie career, I don't blame ya. But my advice is to face your problems head on. It's what I always do."

"I appreciate that, but I'm just not like you. I'm a great manager, but when it comes to standing up for myself against someone above my station, it's just really hard. What if I get fired for saying the wrong thing?"she was chewing on her lip and avoiding eye contact.

"I understand. But you're going to have to face it eventually." I said. She had no response.

* * *

Fallbrook was as terrifyingly beautiful as ever. The cave system it was built in was nicely lit by hanging bulbs and it was bustling with smuggler and casino activity. I saw patrons to some of the finer bars heading in and out. Finer being a relative term. Here everything was nitty and gritty.

We headed for Malin's House of Hospitality where I knew Catherine would be in her office. She was indeed, her blue hair slicked back and her self assured smile waiting to greet us. "Alex Hawthorne! I wasn't expecting to see you today! What brings you in?" she smiled at me in greeting. She carried a clipboard and was checking things off a list.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything Catherine."

"Not at all! Paperwork's boring anyway. What can I do ya for?" she set the clipboard on the desk and turned toward me, giving her full attention.

"I'm looking for someone named Walter Whitney. I heard he retired here."

"That old bag? Yeah but he doesn't like visitors. You probably wouldn't even get past the security detail he keeps outside his apartment door." she rolled her eyes but chuckled all the same.

"Really? He has a security detail?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Yeah! I guess that's just how wealthy Byzantines operate. If ya ask me, I don't much care for it, but I can't say no to the Board so here we are."

"What got him so rich in the first place? I heard he used to pilot manual gunships before AI was invented."

"Far as I know, when AI was invented he was almost out of a job. I heard he went to Byzantium seeking new work and when he was contracted by the movie industry his ideas for family friendly tv and movies shot him right to the top."

"So he made kids shows?" I cocked my head a little. "No wonder he's so wealthy, families must've loved him!"

"That they did, old friend, that they did." Catherine nodded, then reached for her clipboard again. "Anything else? I do need to get back to work."

"Where can I find his apartment?"

"Once you leave the hospice, turn right. It's the last apartment building on the left and his room number is 33."

"Thanks!"

"Any time for a good friend. You're one of the best salvagers Sublight has! I know the policy is not to ask questions, but I am a little curious."

"I need him for a job. There's an abandoned passenger ship up for grabs and its AI has been decommissioned."

"Sounds like he'd be perfect for it then!" Catherine nodded. "It's always good to play it smart, it's how you make the most bits." she smirked.

"Thanks for the help, Catherine!" I said as I backed from her office.

"Any time."

* * *

The apartments smelled of cave musk and stale water. I imagined by the pristine look of the inside of the building this was the cleanest place for a wealthy Byzantine to retire. I saw a bunch of people coming and going from one of the upper floors. I got on the elevator to avoid the heavy traffic on the stairs. Even more people came out wearing expensive looking fineries. A lot of them gasped as I got on the elevator.

I got off on the third floor, where I could smell the scent of food wafting from a busy looking eatery. A sign hung above the huge entryway, "Blue Bayou." It was one of those built in restaurants with no doors, similar to what you'd find in an airport. Next to the restaurant was a huge gilded door with a golden plated 33 engraved on the front. I grabbed onto the brass knocker and gave it a couple raps.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" the door slid open and a wizened old man opened the door. "What the hell do you want?" he snapped.

"Sorry to bother you sir, but is Walter home?"

"I go by Walt, and yes I'm home. You're interrupting my aetherwave serial, so get on with it." he glared daggers at me.

"I know you're retired, but I have on good authority you used to be one of UDL's best pilots back in the day."

"What?! Who told you that!? Get in here, come on boy, before anyone hears you spreading those false rumors." he said rather loudly, corralling me into his apartment and slamming the door.

"Who in tartarus told you my past and why the hell would you be dumb enough to speak of it in front of all these elites?" He shouted.

Inside his apartment, everything was just as finely upholstered and gilded as the apartment door suggested. The floors were made of shiny white marble, there were pillars and gold plating everywhere, and the wood upholstery had fancy patterns carved into it. There was also a TV playing a serial with dancing penguins in it; the show had no color, it was black and white.

"I've got my information from a bunch of different sources, but Paisley Adams told me your name was Walter Whitney."

"Walt Whitney!" he snapped and shut the TV off. "What do you want from me? I'm retired boy."

"I've come to ask you for one final job. I was told you were the best pilot UDL ever had and I could really use your help."

"Help with what, spit it out." he shook his head and sat down on the couch. He reached for the coffee table and picked up a cigar. "I don't have all day, I have a club to run."

"I thought you were retired?" I tilted my head a little in confusion.

"I am! But I have to pay bills somehow."

"So you're not rich?"

"I'm rich enough."

"Okay…anyway, there's an abandoned passenger ship out in UDL space. Its AI has been decommissioned and I need someone who can pilot it out to Terra 2."

"What does Sublight want with an abandoned passenger vessel?" he puffed on his cigar.

"It isn't Sublight per say, but rather me." I gripped my arm, rubbing it self consciously.

"Okay, what do you want with an abandoned passenger vessel?" he put his cigar into the ashtray and snuffed it out.

"This is going to be hard to explain. How much do you like the Board?" I asked the man.

He sat back, eyeing me and pondering. "How much do I like the Board, huh? That's a heavy question boy. On one hand, it was the Board that made me rich. On the other hand it was the Board that made me miserable. Does that answer your question?"

"It sounds like you don't like them too well."

"No, not really. I was glad for the opportunity to express my creativity through their entertainment media, but I only got lucky. My first ever movie was nearly denied by the Board's financial institutions. Without that movie, I would've suffered."

"Okay. Then let me explain what I need with the passenger vessel. Is it safe to speak freely?"

"What, you think the Board has bugs in my exclusive club? Why do you think I chose Fallbrook to retire to? They may be able to come and drink my booze, but they'll never be able to touch me here. Just say what it is you want to say."

"I'm working with Phineas Welles to bring an end to the Board once and for all." I said in a huff. "I don't know what he wants with the passenger ship, but I trust him."

"But do you trust him with your life is the question. Why do you need me?"

"The ship has been abandoned for awhile now and it has no navigation AI. I need an experienced pilot and apparently you're the only one."

"Last living one you mean. I see your conundrum." Walt sat back, stretching, "What's in it for me?"

"Well, if you join my crew, Phineas and Sublight pay handsomely. I was thinking of selling the ship to Sublight once Phin was done with it."

"Sounds like you know your stuff. You know what, this life has been a bit boring anyway. I guess I'll take one last run at things before retiring for good." Walt stood up slowly, running a hand through his gray hair.

"So you're on board?" I asked, feeling glad.

"Yep! Lead the way, Captain." he smiled and followed me out the door.


	7. Chapter 7 It All Comes Crashing Down

**Chapter 7 **It All Comes Crashing Down

"I'll take you to meet Phineas first," I told Walt as we ascended the boarding ramp. "He's a bit eccentric, but he's a good man."

"I imagine. The Board likes to paint him as a psychopathic mad scientist. I bet it's all just propaganda."

"Oh, I don't think they exaggerated the mad scientist part." I chuckled.

He pointed at the nameplate on the wall beside the stairs, "The Unreliable! I like that." he laughed.

I grinned, "Technically changing the name like that isn't legal, but that's the name I have this ship registered under on Sublight Salvage rosters."

"Oh!" I called to him as he ascended the stairs and I made my way toward the bridge. "Someone you know is upstairs, and she probably won't be happy to see you."

"Captain, Paisley is asleep in her quarters." ADA informed me.

"Paisley?" Walt rose an eyebrow, "Paisley Adams?"

"That is correct," ADA said. "Captain, I am also pleased to inform you that SAM's charging station has arrived in Byzantium at the Halcyon Parcel Service's main office."

"She's pleased?" Walt cocked a half grin. "I'm already starting to like it here. Although I'm not sure how reuniting with Paisley will go. Perhaps we should wait to wake her."

"Sounds like a good idea." I told him. "There are 6 crew cabins upstairs if you'd just like to choose one."

"Okay, thank you!" Walt headed up the stairs.

"Shall we head to Byzantium first, Captain?" ADA stared at me.

"Why are you so adamant?" I asked her.

"SAM is still asleep in the storage closet. May I remind you why you brought him onto the ship in the first place?"

"You're right, ADA, I have been neglecting him."

"Is that a go for launch, Captain?" ADA asked as I walked onto the bridge.

"Of course it is, take us to Byzantium."

* * *

Byzantium was alive with the hustle and bustle of trade as usual. This was my least favorite place in the system. Too much corporate control if you asked me and the people who lived here were big headed socialites. I suppose Walt was technically one of them, but it was easy to get sucked in when there was nothing else to do. I could give him a pass for that.

He followed me off the ship, muttering something about, "I haven't been here for so long…maybe I'll go see Maverick Johnston."

"I'll be swinging by the post office," I told him. "You do what you'd like but be back within the hour."

"I don't take kindly to being bossed around, but you're the Captain." Walt rolled his eyes and wandered off.

I was taking the tunnels through town, avoiding the high streets and preferring the low ones. I liked to try and avoid any wealthy citizens if possible. They were all capital crazed in the head by any standard. However, sometimes they were just unavoidable. As I was passing the maintenance tunnel entrance and heading straight toward the Parcel Service, I heard a cry.

"Someone please help me!" it was a woman and she sounded in distress.

I stopped in my tracks, half inclined to check it out. "No, Alex." I told myself. "You're far too busy."

"Please!" she shrieked. "He's stealing my canid puppy!" oh, well if it was a canid puppy. I rolled my eyes but my heart felt heavy as I walked further and further away.

* * *

The post office smelled of old paper and as I entered the scent hit my nose full blast. I hadn't been here in a long while. "Hello, how may I be of assistance today?" the clerk was monotone and sounded dead inside. I would be too if this was my job.

"Hi! I'm here to pick up a package for Alex Hawthorne."

"Package pick up is window A. Please take a ticket and wait to be called." I looked over to window A where I saw a line had formed while I spoke to window B.

"Wait, but I got here first!" I protested.

"I apologize sir, but we cannot take responsibility for the actions of the customer. Please take a ticket and wait to be called."

I grumbled angrily as I took a ticket that read 27 and went to take a seat in the waiting area. _I was here first, I don't understand why they are making me wait…_I was only frustrated, I got it just fine. I was just mad at myself for not going to window A first. How was I supposed to know where to go?

My mind wandered to the woman and her poor canid puppy. I was kicking myself for just ignoring her like that. My heart began thumping and I stared down at my ticket. The line wasn't moving any faster. I walked back up to window B. "Hello again!" I smiled.

"Hello." she stared at me with dead eyes.

"If I leave can I still retain my spot in line?" I asked her.

"Technically no, but since we are so slow today I will allow it. Just so long as you're back before your number is called and you don't lose your ticket." I looked around the store, taking in count the double digit number of people in line at counter A.

"This is slow?" I asked her.

"Normally we are much busier than this, but the holiday season is over so this is one of our slowest weekends of the year." she nodded. "Parcel pick up is much busier than parcel delivery, which is where you're standing."

"Ah, I was just a little lost. I'm not a Byzantium resident."

"I can tell," she eyed me up and down. I took offense to that, but it was no matter.

"I shall be back." I told her. I stuffed the ticket into my pocket and spun around on my heels, a bounce in my step as I shot off to find the woman looking for her lost dog.

The second my toes hit the sidewalk, a woman ran up to me. She had pink hair and was wearing the strangest eye makeup. It was yellow in color, clashing with her hair. I would never understand the fashion choices of these people. It hurt to look at. "Sir! Please help me! No one else will." she had watery eyes, pleading with me. How could I resist?

"What makes you think I will either?" I said with a smart tone, narrowing my eyes.

"Well um…aren't you a mercenary?"

"No. I think you've got your uniforms mixed up." I picked at my lapel, "This is a freighter captain's brocade, if you didn't know."

"No, I didn't actually." she smiled, laughing at herself. But her face just as quickly fell. "Please sir, I've got the money to pay you for services rendered. I just…I just don't have the will for it!" she was sniffling and I saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"Alright, alright. Calm down! How much money are we talking here?"

"I…well…I have 2000 bits on hand," she said as she sniffled and checked her bag. "I can pay you 1000 up front if it helps motivate you. I just can't do without my poor lost Blue."

"Can you tell me who took him?" I asked as I took the 1000 bit cartridge. Man these people would carry just about anything around with them.

"My husband!" she cried, and withdrew a tissue from her purse.

"Wait what?" I narrowed my eyes in bewilderment.

"Yes, my husband. We were just getting done signing separation paperwork when he decided he had a claim over poor little Blue. He doesn't by the way! Blue is _my _emotional support dog. Unfortunately, Scott paid for the dog and Blue is under his name."

"Why would your husband take him if he knew he was your emotional support animal?" I asked, tilting my head and growing even more confused.

The woman paused, appearing to stop crying, "Why? He paid for him of course!"

"Then you solved your own dilema!" I chuckled.

"No, I most certainly have not!" she blew her nose. "Scott knows I need him. What a dick move to make." she started crying again.

"I agree, what do I need to do."

Started: Once in a Blue Moon

Objective: [] Convince Scott Bailey to sign the emotional support waiver.

She dug through her bag for something and pulled out a piece of paper. "This is the document proving Blue is my emotional support canid." she turned it over, "Have Scott sign the last line and the dog is mine." I noticed she had already signed her own name, Laura.

"Alright Laura, where can I find your husband?" I asked.

"My address is listed on the paperwork. Please hurry I don't know how well poor little Blue is going to be treated!" she begged. She was like a dog in her own right.

"Fine, but only because you paid up front." I snapped and snatched the paper from her hand.

* * *

The address was in one of the prissy residential neighborhoods. All around were automechanical janitor units peeing in the bushes. Okay, not really but that's what it looked like if you weren't paying attention. They were watering the plants, keeping the neighborhood looking fresh and clean. I wished I had a SAM unit to do that on the Unreliable. Oh wait, I did, I just couldn't pick up his charger until my number was called. I fingered the ticket as I went to knock on the Bailey family front door. There was a signpost above their mailbox that read their last name.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" came the disgruntled cry from inside. A man in a bathrobe answered the door. He was in the midst of tying the cord when he greeted me. "What is it?" he snapped. I replied, "Well, I'm not one for formalities either but you don't have to be rude."

A cute little blue and pink canid pup poked its head out from behind the man's legs. "Just get on with it," the man said as he shoved the dog back a little to prevent it from exiting the house.

"No wonder she severed your marriage contract." I muttered beneath my breath.

"What was that?" the man glared daggers at me and I held up my hands in defense.

"Scott is it? I was sent by your ex-wife. She would like you to sign the emotional support waiver so she can take Blue back."

"This again? What, she's paying mercenaries to kick my door down now too?" the man crossed his arms and sneered at me from above his mustache.

"One, I didn't kick your door down and two, I'm not a—"

"First the lawyers then the contractors and now this. What, does she want the house too?" the man threw his arms up. "Listen you, why don't you come inside and let me explain things in a clearer light."

Inside everything was sparkly and pristine. Blue's nails clacked off the marble flooring as he followed along. We passed a buffet with a glittery vase of roses sitting atop it. He brought me to the living room where the couches looked like clouds. He took a seat in an armchair and I chose not to sit. I felt I may fall asleep if I did. So many pillows!

"Let me explain something to you pal," said Scott, "my wife already took all the money in our savings account. She's rich beyond belief and I'm left for broke. Blue is all I have left." he was petting the pup in his lap as he spoke. "I'm lucky I even still have furniture thanks to her. I told her, if she wants the dog, she needs to pay me what I paid for him in the first place! He wasn't cheap you know."

"[Perception] You aren't seeing it from her perspective; she needs that dog for emotional reasons. She was very upset when I talked to her."

"I suppose I could be convinced to hand him over. If you pay me the same amount I paid for him."

"What?! I was only paid a thousand to come talk to you! Do you think I'm rich?" I protested at once.

"No, you certainly don't look it."

"[Intimidate 30] Look buddy, we're going to have a real issue if you don't just hand over the canid." I snapped, getting pissed. This guy got on my nerves. It was a wonder Laura ever married him in the first place.

"Fine, fine! Just give me the paperwork, I'll sign my name." he reached for the papers and Blue hopped off his lap. He grabbed a pen from the side table and scribbled his name onto the signature line. Good for him, now that this was finally over with I could bring Blue with me to find that woman.

[X] Convince Scott Bailey to sign the emotional support waiver.

[] Return to Laura with Blue.

"Let me show you out." the man said with a grunt. The last thing I saw was him dialing someone up on his datapad. I wondered who he was calling.

"Yeah, she's a real pain in the ass." he said as he shut the door.

Blue yipped at me and stuck his tongue out. He seemed to like following me around. He trotted along behind me, yipping and squealing at random. It was a little annoying but mostly it was cute. He would be a real good companion if I could legally take ownership of him, but I'm not sure how I would feed him. I barely made enough money as it was. I would certainly be asking for a raise from Laura for having to deal with that monster of an ex husband. I saw why she broke it off.

"Oh good, you got Blue," she sighed as I approached. Her smile was wishy washy as she held out her arms. Blue yipped and leaped into her arms. She pulled the pup into an embrace; he licked her face and she laughed. "Thank you so much! I missed my Boo-boo." she snuggled him. "I don't know what kind of treatment he would've gotten from that brute."

"That he was. I could barely contain myself around him." I told her.

"No one can! It's a wonder he even has any friends!" Laura guffawed. "I can't thank you enough for this. How much do I owe you again?"

I mulled it over. We had agreed upon 2000 total but I had planned to ask for a raise. I could be honest with her and then ask, or I could lie straight up. I knew I had to pay Paisley and Walt soon so I opened my mouth to respond when two UDL officers approached us. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we are under strict orders to detain you."

"What!?" I cried.

"Whatever for?" she let go of Blue and he landed on his four feet, coming to stop next to me and cowering before the two tall lingering officers. One of them grabbed her. "Let go of me!" she cried.

"You're under arrest for disturbing the peace." said the UDL officer with the arrest warrant in hand.

"What about my poor little boy Blue!" Laura moaned as the officer began to drag her away.

"We'll let you assign a beneficiary to take the dog. Scott asked that it be him. I have the necessary paperwork."

"Wait! I have a beneficiary in mind." she said. The officer released her and she shook him off, adjusting her coat and digging a pen from her bag. "You there," she pointed at me, "what's your name?"

"Alex Hawthorne." I said.

She mumbled as she signed her name, "I hereby relinquish my right to said property over to said Alex Hawthorne. Sign here," she handed me the pen and paper.

"I don't know if I can…" my voice trailed off when I saw her eyes. She was desperate. She really didn't want Scott to have Blue. I wondered what Scott had done to her, what he had done to the dog. The dog was very timid, scared to death of the UDL enforcers, poor little thing. "I'll take him." I said, my heart heavy. The lengths that man went for this poor animal was beyond me, so I signed my name instead.

"He's yours." the officer said angrily. _What's his problem?_

'_Thank you.'_ Laura mouthed as she was taken away. The officer yelled, "No bags or personal belongings where you're going."

"It's early retirement for you." said the other. She dropped her bag where she stood. Inside were another 4000 bits and a will with a blank beneficiary line. I wondered how much she had in her bank account, but 4000 was enough for me.

Quest complete: Once in a Blue Moon


	8. Chapter 8 Little Boy Blue and the Man--

**Chapter 8 **Little Boy Blue and the Man on the Moon

"What's with the pup," said Walt as I came on board.

"Have you been waiting here the whole time?" I cocked my head, dragging a crate on board. Walt was drinking a cup of coffee. The crate housed SAM's charging pod.

"For about half an hour, yes. What took ya so long?" he laughed, brushing a hand through his graying hair.

"What do you think?" I patted the stack of paperwork attached to the crate.

"Captain," came ADA's voice, "Paisley is just now waking up and heading to the kitchen. She likes to nap for a long time, doesn't she." ADA had a condescending tone.

"Oh great!" Walt rolled his eyes, "Not sure I'm ready for this."

"You'll be fine!" I encouraged him. _It's not like you left her to go pursue a dream of writing screenplays and running with the big leagues, making her feel inferior. _I kept those thoughts to myself. "You hail ADA when you're ready for mission briefing. I'm gonna go set up this charger."

* * *

I poked at the SAM unit, trying to wake it up. I hoped there was enough battery power left for him to move, or setting up his charger would be a bit difficult. Luckily he powered on, "Heeeello valued customer!" he said cheerily.

"Oof…" I winced. "I really hope ADA's mind drive works on you. Not looking forward to working alongside a corporate controlled robot."

"I do apologize for any inconvenience," he chirped.

"Just…step aside, I'm setting up your charging station."

"Very good!" he moved to the side and I began piecing it together. I stared up at him, lost in thought as I tinkered. ADA had full control over 99% of the systems on this ship, I wondered if she'd have control over the charging pod too.

I finished tightening the last bolts and twisting the last screws when ADA tweedled, "Captain, a couple crew members are causing a disturbance on the ship."

"What is it ADA?" I asked as I took out SAM's mind drive chip, preparing to mess with it a little and re-insert it into SAM's motherboard.

"They appear to be highly distressed and by their infrared signatures, possibly very angry. I recommend immediate action."

I fiddled with the mind drive ADA had worked on and stared into the camera eyes of the SAM unit. His yellow flashing light went from green to yellow to red and started flashing rapidly. "I hope you know what you're doing ADA." I muttered and plugged the SAM in manually so he could charge while he updated.

"I always know what I'm doing." she had a cocky undertone.

The kitchen was a mess. I mean, absolute chaos. I almost thought a tornado had blown through the place but no, that wasn't possible. Blue was barking his head off, making shrill noises that hurt my ears. Paisley was holding the toaster and Walt had his hands raised in self defense. "What in Tartarus is going on in here!" I shouted.

Paisley hoisted the toaster, "This asshole has no right…Take it back right now or I swear on the Law I'll throw this at your hard head."

"I daresay she's out of her mind!" Walt looked absolutely terrified at this point.

"Have you two been throwing things? What the actual fuck?" I snapped and snatched the toaster from Paisley.

"She has, not me." said Walt. I crossed the room and plugged the toaster back into the wall.

"Get ahold of yourselves!" I yelled. Both of them looked ashamed, Paisley held both hands behind her back and toed the floor with one foot and Walt was blushing profusely. "We're all adults here, we can act civil."

"My sincerest apologies." said Walt.

"Sorry…" mumbled Paisley.

"For Law's sake, you were a manager Paisley! And Walt, as a producer you must've overseen a huge crew in your day. Reuniting with an ex should be a piece of cake for the both of you, regardless of the past."

"I um…kinda cheated on her…" Walt was staring at his feet.

"What?!" I stared between the both of them.

"Why do you think he makes me so angry?" Paisley bit her lip.

"I want you both to work it out like adults. I'm not your babysitter." I snapped. "Clean this mess up. I'll wait."

"Don't you have a SAM?" asked Walt, "I saw you carrying in that charger."

"SAM is in the middle of an upgrade. You made the mess now you get to clean it." I glared at him. By the Law it was like dealing with children. Why were capitalists so immature?

They got to it, picking up mock apples that had rolled under the table and sweeping up broken glass. "I'm taking any damages out of your paychecks." I told them. The nodded and grumbled with minimal complaining, but I had asserted myself, they knew who was boss.

Blue trotted up to me, tongue sticking out. He dropped a bone by my feet, he must've found it amidst the wreckage of the kitchen and had been chewing on it the whole time. He was panting heavily. "You must be a thirsty boy!" I smiled and pet his head. I got up to find a bowl and turned on the sink, filling a dish with water.

"We're done Cap'!" Paisley saluted me and Walter sat down, heaving a breath.

"I'm not cut out for this," he was saying to himself. _What? Have too many servants at Club 33 doing all your work for you?_

I slid into a chair with ease and waited for Paisley to join us. She was fetching herself a glass of water. "Now, do we need to discuss this or can we get down to business?" I asked the pair of them.

"No no!" Paisley flushed, "No need to discuss it further, Cap'n."

"I agree. Can you just let me know the mission?" Walt said.

I was scrolling through my datapad, checking messages from Phineas, "Is everyone okay with helping out an outlaw?"

"An outlaw?" Walt rose a brow.

"He's talking about Phineas Welles." Paisley nodded to me and eyed Walt.

"Oh…well in that case, by all means!" I detected a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"You seem skeptical."

"Why would we help an outlaw?! The Board is bound to imprison him eventually, it's just a matter of time."

"Phin takes extreme precaution, I highly doubt anyone would be able to find him in his current location. I almost couldn't find him the first time he contracted me and he sent me direct coordinates!"

"Are you going through mission notes now then?" Paisley pointed at my datapad.

"Actually I have an urgent communique from Phin." I was reading his messages as we spoke.

**[FROM: Phin] Alex, if you're reading this it's URGENT! UDL has sent gunships to recover the passenger ship. You may be in for a fight if you want to recover it.**

**[From: Alex] What do you mean I'm in for a fight? I have Board approval to retrieve that vessel!**

**[Phin] UDL reserves the right to impound any vehicle, including but not limited to abandoned ships.**

**[Alex] That's fucking stupid.**

"It looks like UDL is attempting to impound the ship we're contractually obligated to seize." I told them.

"Sounds like we're in a run for our money." Walt said.

"What it sounds like is UDL is trying to undermine our whole operation. If I had my two cents I'd say they were doing it on purpose." Paisley rolled her eyes.

"In that case, we better get to that ship pronto." I slammed a hand down on the table. UDL really got on my last nerve. "ADA set a course for UDL space."

"Right away, Captain."

* * *

I was on the bridge when we exited jump speed. It didn't take long for my trackers to pick up on the passenger ship's signature. It looked to be parked on a small moon hidden within the rings of the gas giant Eridanos. ADA almost didn't pick up on it, and I wondered how Phin could from so far away.

Sure enough there were two UDL cruisers within close proximity to the moon. Blue popped his head between my legs and yipped as I turned to ADA. "ADA, assessment?"

"It appears they have set up an artificial atmosphere and are in the process of taking the ship. You may have arrived in the nick of time, Captain."

"I may just have. Hail Walt and Paisley, we have a go."

"Captain, Paisley says she refuses to work alongside Walt. Should I activate SAM instead?"

"We may need him." I nodded, "I can't go out there without backup."

"He should also provide you with a higher Intimidation rate too," ADA blinked as she activated the janitor.

"We setting off?" Walt had one hand on the doorframe and was poking his head in.

"Yes, and we're taking SAM with us, I'm expecting resistance."

"What's the plan?" asked Walt as we walked toward the boarding ramp. I opened a locker and searched for suitable armor. I had a set of Elite Troop Armor, and decided it would have to do. It was heavily modded to make it better in stealth situations and it had additional armor platings. I had also spent a few bits to tinker with it. It may be the best armor I had in my inventory.

"The plan is to try and convince them to hand over the ship without a fight. If they resist, I'd prefer to leave no witnesses, best not to lose any Board reputation."

"That sounds healthy," Walt laughed.

"Very healthy." I winked.

Blue yipped as Walt, SAM and I departed.

* * *

I noticed right away the UDL presence on this rock was large. Something about that ship must be very important to them. What it was I'd never know. Walt and I went to hide behind some crates, entering stealth mode. I peeked over the top, holding onto my pistol. I hoped I wouldn't have to use it, I didn't need to lose anymore Board reputation than I may have already had. I checked that my weapon was loaded then I nodded to Walt.

We slowly stood and holstered our weapons. I approached the ship and SAM clacked on his way behind me. He walked rather slowly and he was looking around at all the crates as though he had never seen them before. "ADA," I said into my datapad, "bring the ship back into orbit. Walt and I may be escaping on the passenger ship." I saw the UDL workers from afar, coming in and out of the ship like ants from an ant's nest. They might as well be, corporate lackeys liked to work as though controlled by a hive mind. I rolled my eyes and motioned to Walt that we were heading in.

"Halt!" shouted a commander when he noticed me. "What do you think you're doing here?"

I held up my paperwork, "?[Persuade 50] I think I'm here to take back my ship, thank you very much. What do you guys think you're doing here?"

"[Failed] I'm sorry sir, but unless you either work for UDL or are the sole owner of this ship, no one is leaving here in it."

"Are you blind? These documents right here state that ship belongs to me." I held them up and pointed at the signature lines, the ones that had both mine and Udom Bedford's.

"Actually, according to this, the sole owner is Dean McDermot. As you are not he you don't have the proper permissions to take this ship. Go and get a signature for Dean and then we'll be in business."

"[Intimidate 50] You wanna speak business I can show you the business end of my pistol instead." I fingered the grip of my gun and glared daggers at the man.

The UDL commander looked over to Walt and then to SAM who was staring with that blank expression. The SAM unit also had his claws around the grip of a gun. We were all prepared for anything. "Tell ya what…" started the commander. "You pay in full the impound fee and give me a little on the side, I'll consider it."

"What's the impound fee?" I rolled my eyes.

"2000 bits, and I'd like 1000 as well."

"[Perception] That ship doesn't look to be worth 2000 bits! You've got to be joking!" I cracked a half-cocked smile and the officer shook his head.

"Fine, I may be persuaded to part with her for 1500."

"That's more like it!" I reached into my pocket for the bit cartridge when another UDL officer walked up.

"What the hell is going on over here?" he asked just as the commander was taking the cartridge from me.

"Chief Unlei!" the officer's eyes widened. The Chief took off his helmet and stared the four of us down.

"Did you just accept a bribe? From a dissident no less?" he had both hands on his hips.

"I'm sorry! I'll give it back." the officer was backing away. He dropped the bit cartridge, which I swiftly caught.

"It's a little too late for that dontcha think?" the Chief was fingering his rifle's trigger.

"Please, sir!" too late, the shot rang out and the commander dropped dead with a hole in his head.

I gripped the handle of my pistol with white knuckles, "So uh, what's going on here?"

"You are in strict violation of UDL code of conduct, turn yourself in or face the death penalty." the Chief had his gun trained on me now.

"Fuck that!" I drew my pistol and shot the man in the head before he could even react. All activity near the ship halted and all eyes were on me.

"So um, looks like we're about to have company, huh?" Walt drew his own pistol, a smaller version of my own. Mine was more modded than his.

"Yeah, a whole company of UDL trained soldiers." I heard people calling out orders to each other and the squadron got into battle positions. "Take cover!" I dove behind some crates just as shots began to ring out. Bullets pinged off the blue metal cargo crates.

"I'll clean up this mess…" said SAM, moving to take an offensive position. I wondered if I could fit him with a jetpack in that instance.

It was too late for contemplation as the battle for control over one small, insignificant passenger ship began. I was definitely losing brownie points over this one.


	9. Chapter 9 The Little Engine That Could

**Chapter 9 **The Little Engine That Could

Board Reputation Decreased

The Security Chief was the first one I killed. I felt guilty about doing it too. These men were raised to believe the corporations they worked for were the good guys. It wasn't their fault they were brainwashed fools. The only thing I could do for it now was leave no witnesses. At least I'd be putting them out of their misery. I sure hoped whatever Phineas had planned was worth it.

I felt bullets ping off my armor and I cried out. I was not in the best position of cover and the corporate goonies were moving in. "Alright, time for a little ace up my sleeve." I hoisted a Hammersmith grenade launcher, something I had brought along thinking I may need it just in case. I was lucky I was right. It never hurt to be prepared.

Everyone yelled and scrambled for cover when they saw what I was carrying. It was much too late however, and most of them were caught in the blast. I saw a few of them cowering and setting aside the grenade launcher for a pistol, Walt, SAM and I took offensive positions. I heard some of the men crying.

"Please, don't kill us!" we had our guns pointed at the few remaining UDL team members. "We only work for UDL, it's not our fault you had a bad customer experience…" one of them pleaded. I gulped, feeling terrible.

"We're not going to kill you." I said.

"We're not?" Walt furrowed his brows and stared at me, dumbfounded. "I thought we were to leave no witnesses."

"We won't tell anyone what happened, we swear!"

"Yeah, we'd get fired for sure!" the other guy nodded. I saw the third praying.

"Stand up and get the fuck out of here. We just want our ship." I waved them on and they stood up and ran for it.

"Don't worry, we'll tell them the ship exploded and killed everyone." one saluted as he ran off.

"The ship exploded. Who's gonna believe that?" Walt stared up at the vessel.

"I totally would, look at the thing, it's like a thousand years old." I put my hands on my hips and stared up at the hunk of rusting metal. What Phineas could possibly need with this was beyond me. It looked like it was about to fall apart at the seams.

"It's not a thousand years old!" Walt waved me off, "It's easily around only 40." he climbed the boarding ramp and I followed.

"Can we get it up and running?" I asked him as we headed toward the bridge. The design was very similar to the Unreliable, so the bridge here was also to the immediate right.

"I'll need to get the computer up and running and have it run a diagnostic," said Walt.

"Can it even do that without a ship AI?"

"Of course it can, it isn't a primary function of an AI ya know!" he gave me a look and I shook my head. I didn't know everything about ships, I was a tinkerer not an engineer. ADA did most of the work for me and repairs got done on the Groundbreaker.

Walt got the computer up and running by flipping a few switches. I heard the electricity hum and some lights in the depths of the ship turned on. I turned around and realized where the cargo bay would be on my ship was a length of crew cabins. No wonder this type of ship went out of style, who would want to haul their cargo all the way up the stairs? Maybe it had a lift. That would be cool.

"You can go ahead and explore the ship if you'd like. I have to check the engine room." Walt turned from the controls.

"Why's that?" I asked him.

"The engine is experiencing some sort of failure and we are unable to take off. I'm hoping some of the tubes are just misaligned."

I walked into the crew quarters section of the ship, wondering who might've previously resided here. Maybe it had been meant for commercial travel and a bunch of random people had been on and off it through the course of its life. There wasn't any way to know for sure, but I bet there would be clues to its history inside the cabins. I opened one door and a musty scent wafted out at me.

I coughed and covered my nose. The interior of the cabin was blanketed in dust. I left footprints as I came inside. There were a few pieces of furniture, all covered in plastic. I brushed a finger through the dust. No one had touched this stuff in years. I lifted one of the plastic sheets carefully, tossing it to the side. It fell to the floor gently.

Underneath I found a picture frame and a couple toys. I picked up the picture and examined it closer. A woman with two kids and a canid pup. It was in sepia color format. She looked rather happy, and the kids had huge cheesy grins on their faces as well. The pup had its tongue sticking out. I wondered where her husband was. She probably didn't have one but she must've had someone if she had kids.

The next cabin had a plaque on the wall. It read, "To my fellow shipmates Abby and Ryan I award employee of the month. Congratulations and thank you for your continued service." I brushed my finger across the engraved words. "Huh."

There came a knock at the door and I jumped. "Oh, Walt! You scared me."

"Sorry about that kid. I have a report."

"Okay, go ahead."

"The engines are shot. There's no way we're getting this thing off the ground without replacing a few parts."

"Can you do it?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I'm not exactly an engineer but I have some experience. Where would we get the parts though?" he was stroking his beard.

"We could salvage some from one of the UDL cruisers." I pointed out.

"Those ships are too new and they aren't the same class…I mean…maybe if we switched out a few of the rods and replaced the belts with UDL belts…I'd need a way to set the new power cores in without disrupting the flow of oil."

"That's a simple salvager's trick, my friend!" I gave him finger guns and with a hop in my step I led him back to the boarding ramp.

We walked on board one of the cruisers, the closest one to the passenger ship, and the systems came to life automatically. "Unauthorized passengers detected. Please state your identities and your purpose here." I walked onto the bridge and stared down the ship's AI.

"None of your business," I snapped and pulling out a flash drive stick I plugged it into the AI's slot. In that moment, ADA overrode the ship's primary functions and came online.

"Captain, do you intend to steal this cruiser?" she asked me.

"No, I intend to leave with the ship that's legally mine. I just needed to get rid of that pesky AI before he sent a report to UDL."

"Captain, a partial report has already been sent. If I were capable of thought I'd think UDL may just ignore it as a glitch."

"Okay…I wouldn't be so sure." I turned to Walt, "So, Mr. Whitney, how much time do you need?"

"Let's check out the engine on this bad boy and then we'll see. My estimate is about half an hour." he told me and I followed him to the engine room.

"ADA, set a self destruct for 40 minutes." I said and she tweedled in response.

"Self destruct timer set for 40 minutes and counting," said the male voice of the ship's AI.

"Self destruct timer set." said ADA. "Captain, this action is undoable, I recommend you depart at once."

"Thanks for your concern ADA, I think we've got it all under control here." I laughed as Walt and I entered the engine room.

He gave me a sidelong glance, "I wouldn't be so certain. The coils and rods on this ship are pristine and tiny, I have no idea how we'll fit them onto the engines of that passenger ship."

I lifted a blow torch from my belt. "Simple, we weld them together." I pulled a pair of shaded goggles from my pocket and put them on. "You might wanna look away." I told him then went about dismantling the UDL cruiser's engine.

"Are you absolutely certain you know what you're doing?" Walt asked.

"Of course I'm sure! ADA?" I called to her.

"That is the one thing I know I can affirm." she agreed.

"The one thing." I rolled my eyes and pulled out a few rods and pistons. "Will these do?" I asked.

"Perfectly cut actually!" his eyes were wide.

"Never underestimate my tinkering abilities!" I laughed in glee as I removed the belts and coils next.

Back on my ship I was patient as Walt explained where I needed to place each rod, piston and coil after replacing the belt first. I installed the rods, welding them together so they were big enough to fit into this engine. I placed the pistons exactly where I was told to put them. I was actually having a lot of fun.

"Hey, you're a better engineer than you might think!" I told Walt.

"And you're a wonderful scrapper." he told me. "Now can we get the fuck out of here?"

"Captain," ADA tweedled from my datapad, "I recommend you lift off at once. The self destruct timer of the UDL cruiser is at 1 minute and counting."

"We're cutting it close," Walt huffed as we ran to the bridge. "I have a question," he said as he activated the main controls and sat down in the captain's chair. "Why didn't you just use that driver on this ship?"

ADA tweedled from my datapad, "My AI systems are very advanced, that ship is much too old for me to conjoin systems with, I'd cause a malfunction."

"Ah, I see. Well, you are pretty advanced compared to even the latest AIs," Walt nodded to her. She winked and smiled.

"I will take that as a compliment." she said.

"It was much intended." Walt said loudly over the roar of the engines starting up.

"20 seconds and counting," said ADA.

The ship jostled and I nearly toppled over. "Damn, inertia dampeners are shocked." said Walt as he pressed a few buttons.

"If we're going to travel to Terra 2, won't that be a problem?" I asked.

"I can get them up and running, but not in 20 seconds." Walt said. "Hold onto something!" the ship tilted and I grabbed onto one of the control panels.

"10 seconds. 9…8…"

"We get the picture ADA!" I shouted as the engines screamed and the ship lifted off the ground. We were in the air!

"I like counting down, it makes me feel in control." she twittered.

"Well, I'm in control of this ship and I say, lift off!" Walt yelled and the ship burst upward. That time I did fall down. Down below the UDL ship exploded, destroying the other nearby ships. It was literally directly below us and the fire reached up, up and I felt the force of the explosion then. Even Walt almost fell out of his chair.

"I might as well stay on the floor!" I gasped as I felt my stomach drop. We were in free fall.

"I'm no longer in control of the flight pattern," said Walt, a little too seriously for my tastes. This situation was a bit more dire for my tastes and my heart beat a thousand miles a minute.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I screamed as the engines whined and the flames below continued to lift us off the planet erratically.

"Calm down! We're entering orbit," said Walt. "I've regained control of the navigation systems."

"Good, let's get the fuck out of here." I put a hand to my chest and breathed heavily. Then I lifted my datapad and stared down at ADA, blinking on my screen. "ADA, follow along behind us."

"Setting a course for Terra 2." Walt nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Hail Phineas," I told ADA as we approached his secret lab.

"Captain Hawthorne!" Phineas had a huge smile on his face. "Boy am I glad to see you in one piece!"

"Yeah, so am I. You know we almost died, twice, getting this blasted ship for you!" I narrowed my eyes, glaring the scientist down.

"My goodness!" he gasped, putting a hand to his chest. "Well then, I'm very glad you're quite alright." he smiled. "You guys have permission to dock by the way. I'd like to ask you something in private Alex…"

We docked and deboarded. Walt said, "Hey, I'm heading back to the Unreliable."

"Alright, I think that's fine. Phin wants to talk to me anyway."

I wandered into his laboratory. He was standing outside his glass compartment for once. His face was red when he walked up to me and put a hand up to my cheek. He leaned forward and kissed me and my heart fluttered like a butterfly. I sank into it, melting like butter as I slowly rose a hand to caress his cheek. Then I wondered what the fuck was going on. Instead of finishing the kiss, I shoved him back, my face flushed.

"What in Halcyon!?" I gasped. I was breathing hard and I felt the thump, thump, thump of my heart jumping around, a little bunny in my chest. I had actually wanted to kiss the mousy haired boy standing in front of me back.

"I do apologize. Was that too forward?"

"Maybe just a little…" I held up my index finger to my thumb. "But not unwarranted…" my voice trailed off.

"I'm just glad you're okay. I grow worried about you every time you leave." Phin said, eyes on his feet.

"I just…I'm just a little confused is all." I rubbed the back of my head.

"I'm sorry…No! I take that back. I shouldn't apologize. I always do things with purpose. I care deeply about you Alex Hawthorne." said Phin. It was a lot at once.

I needed a drink, and right about now I realized I still owed Udom one. "Can you give me time to think?"

"I can certainly allot you some time." he nodded and I backed away.

"Don't worry, I'll get back to you on that." I gave him finger guns, my favorite hand gesture. I actually smiled at him, trying to reassure him that things were fine. He was scratching his head as he walked back into his glass compartment.


	10. Chapter 10 Only Semi Charmed

**Chapter 10 **Only Semi Charmed

"Udom, it's good to see you!" announced as I entered the Halcyon Holdings office aboard the Groundbreaker. He frowned at me, a smile lost for once. Strange.

"I'm not so certain I can say the same for you. I heard you attempted to illegally obtain that ship. Too bad it exploded, huh." At least he believed the lie.

"Illegal? I have the paperwork that proves I owned it, there's nothing illegal about it." I patted my breast pocket, indicating where I was keeping the paperwork.

"Perhaps that may be true, but UDL was seizing it. They lost control of the situation because of you it seems."

"[Lie 30] I didn't cause that ship to explode." I laughed, realizing that technically, I did cause the ship to explode, just not the one we were talking about. Udom grumbled and shifted in his chair. "Tell ya what, I'll buy you a couple drinks if you let it go." I gave him a couple winks.

"Oh!" he smiled, "You're offering?" he was giddy in his seat, wiggling like a worm.

"Of course I am, I just got paid."

"Even though you failed to collect that ship?" Udom had a huge grin from ear to ear and I knew I'd gotten to him.

"[Persuade 30] I managed to salvage some parts from the explosion. Now do you want a drink or what?" I said. It wasn't technically a lie, I had salvaged parts from the ship that had exploded. Man I was good at this.

"I want a drink!" Udom was typing a few things into his computer as we talked. "Just requesting a break now. It's approved!" he jumped up.

"That was fast!"

"Faster than normal yes, but today's been a slow day." he nodded and got up to follow me to the bar.

* * *

After a few drinks, Udom had loosened up. "Hey, Alex," he hiccuped, "I've got much better drinks in my room. Would you like…*burp*…to try some?"

I giggled, just as drunk as he was. Oh Law, had I needed this. "Sure!" I got up, and nearly fell flat on my ass. I was wobbly like a Jenga tower. I giggled again at the thought of toppling like blocks.

Udom caught me, "Hey now!" he laughed and began to lead me to his quarters through the back passages. He swiped his keycard and the door slid open.

"How did we get here?" I asked with a huge smile, unable to contain my laughter. The room spun as I fell onto the bed and Udom was on top of me. He stared down into my eyes and breathed heavily.

"I don't know, but it is a pretty precarious situation, is it not?" he booped my nose and I blushed. I felt myself getting hard…

"Hey Udom?" I asked.

"Yes?" he breathed. I smelled the alcohol on his breath and didn't care. I grabbed his face and brought him down and into a kiss. I kissed him hard and he did not hesitate to kiss me back. I felt his knee in my crotch, but he was doing it on purpose. I moaned against his lips and he grunted.

I knew I shouldn't be doing this. If I cared at all about Phineas then this was wrong. I couldn't help but feel guilty but this felt too good. I was too drunk to care and Udom had his hand in my hair. I liked the feeling and put my hand on the back of his head, entangling my fingers into his hair too. He grunted again and I smiled.

I rolled over to be above him and I stared down into his eyes. "Are we really doing this?" he asked me.

I groped him and his back arched in ecstasy, "What do you think?" his eyelids fluttered and I kissed him some more.

"I think yes." and we got tangled in the purple covers, an ocean of sweat and steam with me on top.

* * *

"So that just happened." We fell back onto the pillows and stared up at the ceiling, laying side by side. Udom had both his hands behind his head, arms crossed. We were both naked and hot.

"Yeah…" my chest rose and fell visibly with my shaky breath. I wasn't sure I had been ready for that. It was much too late now. What was I going to tell Phineas?

"Can you believe I've wanted this for the longest time?" Udom asked me.

I could believe it. "No…" I smiled at him, turning my head and staring at the soft curves of his face and body. I was still buzzed, but my heart thumped with guilt. I don't think I cared about this man the same way I cared about Phineas. Now I wished I had kissed the lab rat back instead of pushing him away. I wondered…I had probably made him feel like crap.

I sat up. "I have to go."

"What? Already?" Udom sat up and watched with a tilted head as I pulled my boxers and pants on, hopping on one foot.

"I'm charmed, really, but I think I made a mistake." I told Udom.

"I'm a mistake?" he bit his lip.

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" I pulled my captain's brocade on over my shoulders and realized I had forgotten my shirt. Udom stared at my shoulders, my rather muscular shoulders. He couldn't keep his eyes off me and I felt terrible. "I'm just drunk…" I swallowed my pride and admitted to him.

"Oh…" great, now I'd made two men feel bad.

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make you upset."

"No, I understand," said Udom, turning away from me. I felt very guilty but there was nothing to say for it. I left the room, my clothes very much out of order.

I wavered on the deck of my ship, staring around and trying to get my bearings. "You okay Cap'n?" Paisley asked me as I came into the kitchen and got myself a large glass of water. "You smell like alcohol and you can't even stand up straight!" she was biting her lip and I could tell she was trying hard not to laugh. That was all well and fine. I had my back to her and I rolled my eyes as I chugged the cup of water.

"Not to mention the misshapen state your clothes are in." Walt commented.

"Okay, I don't need the commentary guys," I told them, spinning on my heel to face them with an angry look. "I'm drunk off my ass and I made a terrible mistake."

"What mistake was that?" SAM was slowly entering the kitchen, his nozzle lifted to start another chore. "I am…_computing_…curious." he sounded a little confused but sincere.

"He's curious!" Walt threw his hands up and laughed heartily. "What you like to do to your computing units makes me feel amused." he said between bouts of laughter.

"It is rather funny, but I think it's actually pretty cool," said Paisley.

"I'm not saying it's not!" Walt shook his head but his smile didn't falter.

"I'm glad to see you two getting along for once," I told them.

"Me too, Cap, me too." Paisley said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Walt snapped.

"So Cap," Paisley changed the subject, "what kind of terrible mistake did you make and does it have anything to do with the alcohol? No judgement either." she added.

"I may have a little judgement," said Walt.

I groaned, feeling sick. "Fine, I'll tell you, but only if you promise this stays on the Unreliable."

"Cross my heart," Paisley said, making the motion over her chest.

"Promise," grunted Walt and sipped from a flask.

"I…do not compute." said SAM.

"You're fine, it's probably not in your programming to reveal Unreliable secrets, right?" I asked him.

"I do not…_transferring data…_think so." he said. "I am your…trusted on board companion!" his voice went in and out as he completed data transfers required to speak with his own personal flair.

"Well? Spit it out already!" Paisley encouraged me.

"I had sex with Udom Bedford…"

"Sex with…!" Walt spat out his drink.

Paisley couldn't contain herself any longer and burst into hysterics, "I knew that man was eccentric but this? This is on a whole 'nother level."

"I thought there was no judgement here." I frowned.

"Oh no, this, this deserves all the judgement." Paisley laughed, but she was only teasing.

"I must say I agree with Paisley for once." said Walt and we all shared a good laugh at my expense.

"So what's the problem?" Paisley finally calmed down enough to ask.

"Yes, do tell," said Walt. "Besides the fact he's a man." I chose to ignore that.

"Phineas kissed me earlier." I choked on words. I was feeling very lightheaded.

"Oh, so that's what he wanted to tell you, huh?" Walt shook his head. "Glad I returned to the Unreliable then."

"What do I do now!?" I threw my hands to my temples and rubbed, trying to ease my headache. I knew what I had done was wrong, but all I wanted now was to fix it.

"Go back to Phineas and tell him the truth," said Paisley. "Tell him your feelings. What are your feelings anyway? Come on, practice on me."

"I'm not going to practice on you," I grimaced. "My feelings are…a bit jumbled."

"Pretend I'm Phineas." she said.

Walt stood up, "I don't know about all of you, but I need a nap."

"I do not require naps." said SAM.

"When you charge is kind of like your nap," I told him.

Walt left the room, and Blue trotted in. He yipped at Walt as he passed but Walt didn't stop, so Blue came cantering up to me. His tail was flapping and he looked excited to see me. I knelt down and pet him. Then Paisley spoke and I looked up at her, "Blue is not an excuse to avoid this exercise, Cap'n. Why do you think people love me as a manager? I'm very good at the things I do. Now come on, speak to me as though I were Phineas Welles."

"Okay." I rose and took a seat next to her. Blue wandered off, finding his food bowl and we heard chomping sounds. I took a huge breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was ready. "Phin…I messed up, big time. I feel guilty for what I did, and I know it was the wrong thing to do."

"What did you do, Cap'n?" Paisley made her voice deeper, pretending to be Phineas.

"His voice does not sound like that!" I chuckled.

"So what! Be serious." she said, her tone telling me she wanted me to continue. I groaned.

"Okay, sorry." I said then continued. "I'm sorry I pushed you away when you kissed me."

"Go on…" she rolled her arms, hands bladed, over each other, prompting me to finish.

"I was conflicted and because of that conflict, I hurt you."

"You're still not opening up, tell him what you did wrong!" Paisley commanded.

"Aren't I supposed to be the Captain here?" I asked her.

"Not right now!" she shook her head but had a huge smile on her face. I think she liked torturing me.

"Phineas—"

She interrupted me, "Not that serious. I like the nickname you have for him."

"Okay, Phin." I rolled my eyes, "I had sex with Udom Bedford. I feel guilty about it because after all was said and done I realized I didn't care about him as much as I care about you. I hope you can forgive me."

Paisley nodded with a short chuckle, "Very good, now do you care to try it for real?"

"Maybe in the morning," I told her, "I can't see Phin right now. I shoved him away from me when he tried to kiss me and I don't think we're going to be in a good place if I see him again today."

Paisley winced, "Oh, that smarts." she bit her lip.

"I know. I messed up. Can I just have a little space please?"

Paisley nodded and stood up, stretching, "Sure thing, Cap! I think you did pretty well. If you want to wait till tomorrow to see Phineas, go right ahead and take as much time as you need."

"Thank you," I sighed a breath of relief. She left the room and Blue trotted up to me again.

I pet him on the head, his body soft to the touch. "Oh boy, what am I to do, huh little buddy?"

"Buddy does not compute!" SAM's voice behind me made me jump in my seat, scaring the ever living crap out of me.

"Don't sneak up on a guy like that!" I gasped, turning to the bot and addressing him.

"I am…_retrieving…_sorry!" his hydraulics lowered and he appeared shorter for a second. I believed his apology was sincere. His personality chip was working like a charm.

"It's fine," I waved him off and turned back to the pup. Blue's tongue was sticking out and he looked happy. "Good boy," I said to him. He was the only one who wouldn't ever judge me. "That's a good boy…"


	11. Chapter 11 Dancing With Somebody

**Chapter 11 **Dancing With Somebody

**Part I**

**[From: Alex] Hey Phin, can we talk?**

**[From: Phin] There's no need for talking.**

**[Alex] I would like to, actually.**

**[Phin] And I would not like to, actually. You made yourself very clear.**

**[Alex] I didn't make myself clear enough!**

For awhile he didn't respond and I was left staring at the tiles on the ceiling of my bed frame. They were in need of a clean. Maybe I'd ask SAM to later. But now I couldn't keep thoughts of Phin out of my head. What was he doing now? What was he working on in that lab of his? Was he mad at me…?

**[Phin] Whatever do you mean?**

I jumped at the opportunity to explain myself to him. I scooped my datapad up so fast I nearly dropped it and scrambled to keep my grip on it. Finally, I caught it and keyed in my response. **[Alex] I pushed you away out of shock, not recoil.**

**[Phin] You seemed quite repulsed.**

**[Alex] I'd like to say you misread me, but I kind of was…but not at you! I was scared.**

**[Phin] What were you scared of? You don't have to be afraid with me.**

**[Alex] I was scared because I didn't know how to feel. I've never been attracted to anyone before the way I'm attracted to you.**

**[Phin] I wouldn't exactly call us opposites, but we do attract like protons to electrons. At least, that's how I feel when I'm around you. I can't stop myself from gravitating towards you.**

**[Alex] I wanted to melt into that kiss like canola butter melts onto boarst wurst.**

**[Phin] You like butter on boarst wurst?**

I couldn't stop myself from smiling at that. **[Alex] You ought to try it. It's pretty yummy.**

**[Phin] Perchance I shall. What say you come over…?**

My heart fluttered at the prospect, **[Alex] Are you asking me out?**

At that point my stomach was filled with butterflies. I wanted to spin around my room but I sank into my pillows instead. I wanted to shout in glee but would prefer not to disturb the crew. Maybe there was something wrong with me, but every ounce of my being wanted to jump up and order ADA to head to Phin's lab at once. I knew it would be a bit premature, however.

**[Phin] I just might. Though, I am still a little upset. How ever will you make it up to me?**

**[Alex]...I um…need to admit something to you but I must do it in person.**

**[Phin] Oh? That's a bit worrisome.**

**[Alex] It's sensitive. It'd be bad to explain over text.**

**[Phin] Very well, you have my permission to return to my laboratory.**

I dropped my datapad to my side and sighed in relief. This was a good first step, I was so worried he'd stay mad at me. He must care about me a lot if he wanted to fix this as much as I did. I didn't know where all this emotion was coming from. I just knew I'd made a mistake. A mistake I intended to correct.

"ADA," I made my way to the bridge, "Chart a course for Phin's lab."

"Right away, Captain."

* * *

Phin cleared his throat and stayed behind the glass while we spoke. "Hi." he said bluntly. It was a bit awkward.

"I want to start off by apologizing. I never meant to hurt you in that way. I care a lot about you too Phin." he couldn't hide the tiny smile that formed on his lips when I spoke those words.

"I care for you too, Captain. I'm always worried when you're off on one adventure or another. I've never felt such fear for another person like this before. Ha! And the Board calls me a psychopath."

"I don't think you're a psychopath. I may not know all that your up to, and as a Sublight salvager it's not my position to question my contractors; but that doesn't mean you're crazy."

Phin nodded, "What did you want to tell me that was so dire it must be said in person?"

I stopped at that, my heart catching in my throat. I put my hand on the glass, "Can I come in…?"

"Maybe…" he said but he unsealed the side door. I walked over to it but stopped on the threshold. I felt a million miles away.

"Phin…I did something terrible and I think it may have hurt you indirectly."

"Nothing you do could possibly hurt me." But he didn't look too sure.

"I have to say this now or I don't think I'll ever be able to say it…I slept with Udom Bedford."

Phin took a step back, his face twisted in disgust. "What? That worm?"

"I know there isn't any excuse for it, but I do want to put on the record that I was drunk and confused."

"At least you're being honest." Phin sighed. "Confused about what?"

"I was feeling sexually confused. I was very scared when you kissed me."

"I already told you you don't have to be scared around me. I want you to know that this lab is honestly the safest space in the entire system."

"I imagine it is," I looked around at my surroundings, the tables with dead animals on them, the lab equipment set up on random counters and the sticky notes and tacked letters all over the walls. It wasn't the most organized or sanitary place in the system, but I felt secure here.

"No doubt about it!" Phin smiled. "Hey, I think I'm sick of this dance we're doing."

"What dance?" I eyed him and he lifted a hand, cocking his index finger and gesturing for me to come into the room.

"You know in musicals when people burst into song when they run out of things to say?" Phin asked me.

"Yeah?" I was within a couple feet of Phin, I could feel his breath on my chin.

Phin stepped closer to me, "Sometimes it's easier just to kiss."

"Yeah?" I blushed, moving closer and he breathed against my lips,

"Yeah!" we said at the same time and our lips collided. He put his hands on my face, holding both cheeks as we locked tongues. Our kiss was heated and passionate and there would be no separating the two of us. I put my hands up, caressing his hips and pulling him ever closer to me. I felt his front on mine and I could feel his ever growing bulge. Neither of us could contain ourselves and in this moment, that was completely okay.

"Whoa! Spicy!" Paisley had entered the lab and snuck up on us. The two of us burst apart instantly, both breathing heavily and staring each other down. I couldn't keep my eyes off him and I noticed he was still a little hard.

"Paisley Adams!" I exclaimed her name as though it was a matter of fact. I really hoped she was keeping her eyes off the two of us. I wasn't so soft myself.

"That's my name." she laughed at us.

"You can't sneak up on a crazed lunatic such as myself, you never know what I could do!" Phineas put one finger into the air.

"Oh come on, you're harmless!" Paisley giggled into her hands.

"Oh, quite the contrary, little miss." Phineas prodded around for something in his cupboards.

"What did you need Paisley?" I turned to her and put my hands on my hips. I realized she was short and she could look either up at my eyes or more easily down at my crotch. I really hoped this would go away soon.

Thank the Law, she looked up into my eyes, "I think Blue would like to go outside, he's been scratching at the boarding door for the past 15 minutes."

"He's well trained then," I smiled.

"That he is, but not even a person could hold it for too long. We should head to planet's surface soonish or somethin'."

"That's for sure!" Phineas popped up, "He can't go in my lab, I don't need another mess to clean up." then he ducked back down.

"Okay, then I guess we're gonna have to put our date on hold," I told Phin.

He got up from crawling around on the floor and he had a huge rifle in his hands. "Here take this," he handed me the gun and I noticed it had a yellow mod on it. I'd never seen this damage type before.

"What's this for?" I was a little flustered as I took the large weapon from him and held it gingerly, like it could burst into flames at any second. You never knew around Phin.

"Your next mission, mister." Phin chuckled.

"What's it do?"

"It shoots what I like to call yellow burst energy. It's the same as a shock weapon except it shoot yellow surges of electricity, much more potent."

"Why do I need this?"

"I do know how you like your modded guns." he smiled at me, patting the gun in my hands, "I'll have to explain to you later, after you potty that canid pup." Phin winked. "And after we've had dinner. I expect you here later tonight?"

"It's a date!" I called as I followed Paisley back to the ship.

* * *

**Part II**

I brought Paisley along with me and Blue when we landed in a valley outside the town limits. It was where I always landed when visiting Terra 2. Technically we should be using the landing pad, but what was the point? I liked the open air.

"We gotta hurry with this, I'm ready for lunch," said Paisley as we walked down the ramp. Blue burst forward and ran into the field, squatting to do his thing.

"Me too," I said, feeling my stomach rumble. Paisley was holding onto her own belly, a longing look on her face.

I waited for Blue to come back, then I heard it, a low growling coming from the pup. I rushed forward, wondering what was up. Two large feral canids were circling around my poor little pup and he was backing up toward a rock wall, trying to avoid a fight. He was a mouse compared to those beasts. "Paisley, we've got a problem."

"I know…it's a pack." she pointed at two more coming towards us. She lifted her pistol.

"I'll go help Blue, you do your thing."

"Oh, I'll do my thing alright." she began shooting at the two canids making their way toward her. I ran off to rescue little boy Blue.

Another canid entered my field of view and I had to stop in my tracks, just short of the ones circling Blue. That's when I heard a yelp. "Shit!" I lifted my hunting rifle and began shooting at the alpha canid that had decided to choose me as its target. This was a whole ass pack!

"DIE BEAST!" I yelled, shooting round after round. It was dead and I ran forward to save Blue. He was holding his own, however, and I was pretty proud of the pup. He had downed one of the beasts and I came in guns ablazing, saving him from the second. Paisley ran up, a huge smile on her face.

"My pistol may be small, but it is mighty." she blew off a smoke curling from the end of the barrel.

"Very good."

"What now, Cap'n? Back to the ship?"

I stroked my chin, handing her the hunting rifle. I had also brought along the yellow long gun Phin had given me. It looked kind of like a shotgun but it was painted blue and yellow. "What say we use this baby on some automechanicals?"

"It's pretty…" Paisley had wide eyes and she reached out to touch it.

"Mine!" I pulled it away from her. We both laughed at that then she and Blue followed me towards Edgewater.

"I know there's a couple automechanicals in the scrapyard behind Edgewater. We're already on that side so why not?"

"I agree, and maybe we can stop for lunch in town?" she asked.

"I am on Spacer's Choice's good side." I nodded in agreement.

"So lunch is doubly cheap!" she beamed and I laughed at her.

"Yes, it most certainly is."

We made it to the scrapyard. I heard the clanking of two mechanical's set of feet and Blue went off barking. I didn't think he could take down an automechanical, but I wasn't too worried for his safety. There were plenty of canids on this planet and the mechanical doubtful to label little Blue as a threat. I heard him yipping his head off though. "_Yap, yip, yap! Bark, bark, bork!"_

Paisley and I found the first automechanical and I hoisted the gun. I aimed down the sights. "Halt, you are in violation of—" I shot the weapon, and had to hold the trigger down to let it charge, but the bolt of yellow lightning that emitted from the barrel was ginormous and it zapped the machine right in its core, electricity flowing all around its copper plates. The machine halted at once. Then it collapsed into a bunch of parts on the concrete.

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!" I whooped, pumping my fists in the air. I let the gun hang by its strap as I did a victory dance.

"Good job, Cap!" Paisley was proud and beaming. She was happy dancing with me.

After salvaging a few valuable parts from the felled machine, I whistled for Blue to return to us as we exited the junkyard. Today had been a pretty productive day and I totally loved this gun Phin had made. It was like an electric shotgun. I think I'd name it Thor. "Thor did a pretty good job today, huh?"

"Thor?" Paisley lifted a brow at me as we ascended the ramp.

"That's what I'm calling Phin's electricity gun."

"Fitting name." she laughed. She was such a lighthearted person, and her laughter was infectious. I smiled, I liked that about her.

"You really are a good employee, and even better, a good friend."

"I'm glad you think so, Cap'n, I think you're a good friend too." she closed her eyes and smiled at me, cute. Then she opened her eyes and said, "I know Walt is more old fashioned, but I really hope your date with Phineas goes well." her smile never faltered and it was reassuring.

We stopped just short of boarding, "Why, thank you."

"Your honesty paid off, huh? I gave ya some pretty good advice, come on, admit it!" she giggled and we walked inside.

"No, I don't think I shall!" I teased.

"Come on, Cap!"

Her laughter echoed off the walls of the ship as the door closed. Blue trotted along beside me, looking up at me and I shook my head down at him, his tongue was sticking out.

The door clanged to a close.

* * *

Phin had music playing I had never heard before when I entered the dining room. He had the table set with a candle and a bundle of roses in the center. The plates were fine china and he had the forks on one side and a spoon and knife on the other. How neat for the disorganized scientist.

"_So look me in the eyes_

_Tell me what you see_

_Perfect paradise_

_Tearing at the seams_

_I wish I could escape_

_I don't wanna fake it_

_Wish I could erase it_

_Make your heart believe_

_But I'm a bad liar, bad liar"_1

"I thought this kind of musical expression was illegal," I said as I took my seat. "I mean, I'm not complaining.

Phin set down a couple dishes with lids on them. "Oh, it's very much so illegal, but I don't give a hoot!"

I nodded, "I don't disagree, I like it. What is it?"

"It's an assortment of old Earth songs I managed to collect when I was exploring the Hope."

"The Hope?" I rose a brow as he sat down and opened the lids. There was homemade Tarmac and Cheese in one dish, roast boarst with herbs and spices and an assortment of vegetables. "You made all this!?" my mouth watered, and I nearly drooled. It all looked so good.

"I mean, I borrowed a few things, but it is all a bit more delectable and filling than the normal food you'd find out in the colony." I knew Phineas thought food was one of the biggest issued the colony faced. I mean, times like this when you were presented with a wonderful dinner, I wasn't so sure, but he was much smarter than I was.

"I didn't know you cooked," I smiled at him.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, but I admit I'm sure there's also a lot I don't know about you. I hope to remedy that by getting to know you. Help yourself by the way."

Another catchy song came on and I was so glad it wasn't Board approved jingles. I knew later I wouldn't be able to help myself writing about this in my journal. I'd even record what I remembered of the lyrics! They were so pretty. "So why the songs? You must have a reason."

"I have a plan to wake up the lost colonists on the Hope. All hope is not lost to us yet in that regard. I see you enjoy music."

"I'll enjoy anything that isn't Board fed crap." I said around a bite of roast. "I rather enjoy writing more."

"I like equations and formulas." Phineas smiled.

"In that regard you are much more advanced than I am."

"You're smart in a different way." Phin was picking with his food. I listened to the music a moment as I chewed my food. "You have skills I could never fathom in myself." he told me.

"_A feeling, woohoo, that tonight's gonna be a good night_

_That tonight's gonna be a good night_

_That tonight's gonna be a good, good night!"_2

"I can tell you like to tinker with weaponry, we have that in common." I smiled at Phin. "I've always wondered about your Ray Gun."

"My Shrink Ray gun, you mean. Yes that one is one of my proudest creations. Perhaps one day I'll show you how it works."

"I could always try it out for myself." I joked, Phin only shrugged. "I'm glad you're proud of it."

"I'm usually proud of all my accomplishments. I have yet one more I need to achieve, and it's something I want to do with you, if you'll have me." Phin had a pleading look in his eyes. It seemed he wanted to go on an adventure with me.

"Are you asking to join my crew?"

"No no, just go on an excursion with you guys, the next mission!"

"Of course I'll have you." I finished the food on my plate and I was pretty full. "This was a good dinner by the way, thank you."

"You're very welcome." a piano song came on and Phin jumped up. "Oh, this is a beautiful piece." he extended a hand out to me, "May I have this dance."

Gingerly, I took his hand. My mother had taught me to slow dance, thinking I'd find a girl one day. Unfortunately my mother had passed away long ago of a sickness. I was sad she didn't get to see this day. I accepted Phin's invitation. He pulled me into the dance, and we waltz. I kicked my chair in, giving us more room to circle around. Thankfully this space had the room for it, it almost made me think Phin had planned it this way. He was a very calculating guy, I wouldn't put it past him. It was rather unlike him to be this organized though, but I was proud of his commitment to it. We circled as the piano played…

"_All I want is love that lasts_

_Is all I want too much to ask?_

_Is it something wrong with me?_

_All I want is a good guy…"_3

"I'm glad you're here, Alex." he smiled at me. His eyes were a little below mine. He was tall, but I was about an inch taller.

"I'm glad I could be here," I said. Then I put an index finger under his chin, lifting him to meet my eyes. I led us in the dance and slowly I brought him to me, kissing him slow.

He grunted against me, and his hand felt the length of my back. Our dance slowed to a halt and in that moment I was lost in his world. He was melting into me, and I was melting into him. I felt unified with him as we kissed. He led me to his bed chambers and we sat on his bed and continued to make out. We locked eyes and I smiled against his mouth.

"This is good," I said in a huff.

"Very much so," agreed the doctor.

The song we listened to earlier had been right, this had been a good night. I laid down next to Phin, cuddling him as big spoon. He pulled the covers up and we lay there, drifting off into sleep listening to another song play from the other room.

"_Lay your head down and feel the beat_

_As I kiss your forehead_

_This may not last but this is now_

_So love the one you're with…"_4

It helped me drift off to sleep as I held him. I wondered in that moment, if we were now dating, were we boyfriends? I heard Phin murmur something.

"What was that?" I whispered, then yawned.

"I'd say so, yes," he answered a question I hadn't realized I'd said aloud.

* * *

Footnote:

1 Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons

2 I Have A Feeling by Black Eyed Peas

3 All I Want by Olivia Rodrigo

4 I Do Not Hook Up by Kelly Clarkson


	12. Chapter 12 When The Sky Falls

**Chapter 12 **When the Sky Falls

"_The sun goes down_

_The stars come out_

_And all that counts_

_Is here and now_

_My universe will never be the same_

_I'm glad you came, I'm glad you came…"_1

I woke up with Phineas in my arms and the music from last night still playing. It was a sweet rhythmic tune that made me feel like dancing, but it also gave me a good feeling in my chest. Much better than the crap the Board forced everyone to listen to all the time. I felt Phin stirring under my arms and I gradually unlocked him from my grip. "Good morning, sleepy." I rustled his hair and he chuckled under his breath. I knew he was awake at that point.

"I'm really not a morning person," said Phin.

I laughed, "I can tell. I am though. Would you like me to make you some coffee?"

"That would be wonderful." he stretched as I sat up, then he curled back into his pillow.

I had to climb over the man to get off the bed, and he grunted as my legs hit his. I grabbed my pants from the floor and pulled them on over my boxers. I adjusted my shirt, it had wrinkled and conformed to my body. "Anywhere to wash these clothes? I need to change!"

"I'll show you later…" Phin's voice was muffled. I made my way into the kitchen where unexpectedly a robot arm greeted me. It looked to be waving so I waved back.

"Now, where do I get some coffee?" The robot arm went stiff, then moved around on it's axle and opened a cabinet. I saw a bag of coffee grounds inside. "Why thank you, robot arm." I smiled as I reached up to grab it. "Point me in the direction of the coffee maker?" it did so and I poured a little grounds into a filter. Then I filled the maker with water and set it to make some coffee for the two of us. About 4 cups of coffee filled up in the span of about 10 minutes. I went to check on Phin while it brewed.

I went back to Phin's bedroom and saw him entering the adjacent bathroom in a bathrobe. He must be about to take a shower. I shrugged and knocked, "I know this is gonna sound weird but can I join you?"

"I'm not opposed, saves more water that way!" he nodded and I followed him inside. He dropped his robe and I removed my clothes.

We showered, and I used his homemade soap. I wondered how he made this. Then I thought about the pigs he had in the main room that just wandered about. It must be boarst fat and cleaning material. Hopefully some sort of cleaning material. Phin smiled at me as I passed the soap to him. _Please don't make a dropped the soap joke, _I prayed and wished… He dropped the soap, laughing, "Whoops! Dropped the soap." he bent down to pick it up and I slapped his ass. He made an "Oop" sound and chuckled as he stood back up.

"How did I know you were gonna drop it?" I shook my head but grinned at him.

"I suppose we're a little more comfortable around each other now?" he eyed me and I nodded.

"I've always been comfortable around you Phin, you just never realized it."

"You weren't comfortable the other day."

"I was confused and scared. I'm not scared anymore." I took his chin between two fingers and pulled him into a kiss. Then I slapped his ass again and he jumped, a burst of nervous laughter.

"Is that going to be a constant thing with you?"

I guffawed, "_Wha-at?!_ You have a nice ass." Phin was blushing at me. He was surprisingly clean shaven for a scientist all on his lonesome out here, all alone in space. I was a little bit the opposite. I trimmed, don't get me wrong, but not like Phin. He must like to keep up appearances.

"Why thank you." he gushed.

We turned off the water and he passed me a towel from a side cabinet. I dried myself off and stared at Phin as he did the same. I just could not keep my eyes off him. He was gorgeous in my eyes. I had always thought the mousy haired man was cute, but now I was realizing he was sexy too. "Do you work out or something?"

"Or something," he winked. "No, I stay active in a small exercise room I converted a while back. Remember when I had that gut?"

"Oh yes, and I mistakenly commented on it, making you feel self conscious."

"That's why I built myself an exercise room in the first place! But in all honesty I'm glad you said it, being active is healthy for Mind as well as Body. You're looking fine yourself, by the by." he was staring at me too.

"You're too kind!" I waved him off and continued grinning. We kissed before making our way to the kitchen.

I poured him a cup of coffee and we talked over drinking it. "So, what was this next mission you had in mind?" I leaned against the countertop, bracing myself with my free hand.

"Oh yes, that. Touchy topic right now. UDL hasn't put it's focus on the lost Hope just yet and I wanted to take advantage before a security detailed was detached."

"That sounds like some smart thinking." I said, sipping at the steaming hot liquid in my cup.

Phin pondered over his drink, sniffing at it, "I'm always doing smart thinking!" he took a sip. "Augh! Hot, should've blown it off." I giggled on my next sip as I watched him carefully. He was like a cat, ever so careful with his cup of coffee.

"So, are you gonna spill the beans? What do you need on a lost derelict that's so important?"

"Not a what, but a who!" Phineas set his mug down and stared me in the eye. He was getting that crazed look about him that he usually got when getting a radical idea. This idea had already taken root and sprouted, however. No stopping it now.

"Okay, who is so important on the Hope that we're risking getting caught snooping by UDL."

"Oh, no one in particular," he waved me off. I rolled my eyes but stayed patient with him. "Any old who will do, as long as we are able to retrieve someone. My honest hope? I want to wake them all! But I don't know if I have enough dimethyl sulfoxide solution at the moment."

"Or enough time if UDL is already moving in." I pointed out.

"And that they are, the Board is growing ever more precautious about that ship. They're worried the only thing the Hope would be good for is making more mouths to feed. I disagree that it would be a problem, which is why I've been outcasted as crazy."

"I don't think it's crazy to think a bunch of scientists, engineers and other top of their game members of society sent by Earth so many years ago would be a good thing for the colony."

"Exactly! Earth wouldn't have sent them if they thought it was a bad thing." Phin put one finger in the air and smiled behind it. Then he picked up his coffee again and sipped. "Augh! Again with the heat!" I shook my head and laughed.

"So, what do you need from me and my crew?" I asked.

"I need you to stay on board the Unreliable and distract any UDL ships that may be in the vicinity while Walt pilots the second passenger vessel into the Hope's docking bay. The position of the Unreliable will be key to blocking UDL's view so they won't even know that a second ship docked. If it gets dicey I would like you and Paisley to be my backup. If that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me!" I raised my voice a little to let him know I was sincere.

"Good. So, Walt is still willing to fly the Second Star?"

"Second Star?"

"It's what I've named our ship."

"Our ship?"

"You technically still own it. But I hope one day to go with you on an adventure in it."

"An adventure, right?" I winked at him.

"Oh you!" he waved me off.

"I'm gonna go talk to my crew now," I told him and he nodded his acknowledgement.

* * *

I boarded my ship later that morning and hailed ADA, "ADA, gather the crew in the kitchen. I need to have a talk with them."

When she didn't respond I looked into the bridge and saw SAM in there dusting off some panels. "Oh…SAM, that's the spot exactly." she was sighing, actually sighing in pleasure. I had never seen such bullshit! No, just kidding, I was actually happy for the two but I was in complete shock at what was going on.

"ADA! What in the actual fuck?" I started laughing and SAM actually fell flat on his ass.

"I do apologize, sir…_processing…_We did not think you would be back this morning…"

"Yes…" ADA made a breathy sound, "The crew are in their cabins, minding their own business. We thought we'd be fine."

"You two do not need to make excuses, I get it, the bridge is basically ADA's bedroom."

"If you would like to call it that, then yes, I suppose it makes a little sense."

"I'm only shocked it's possible for two programs, one a ship computer and one a janitorial unit, to have intercourse."

"Or…what's close to it…" SAM had his volume turned down low, and I imagined he would be blushing if he had any blood to rush.

"I'm happy for you two! I really am." I beamed at ADA and she gave me a sly smile.

"I am pleased for myself, mind you." she snapped to it. "Now, Captain, what do you need?"

"I want to call a crew meeting. Our next steps are very important. I can't leave them out of this on this decision."

"Very good, Captain, hailing them now."

I met my crew in the kitchen and the first thing Paisley said was, "How did your date go? It was a date right? I was actually really tempted to barge in again but thought privacy was probably important on this one."

"That was good thinking," I told her. Neither Phin nor I would've been happy had she interrupted dinner. "The date was nice. He cooked a delicious dinner and then we danced to some old Earth music."

"Illegal music I presume." Walt gave me a smirk.

"There's no problem with that, is there?"

"What you do on your time is none of my business." he held up his hands.

"You danced?" squealed Paisley, "Like, slow danced?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Like, slow danced."

"Good for you," she said.

Walt interjected, "So, why have you called us out here? Something important, I'm guessing?"

"Yes, actually, very important. I have a special request from Phineas, one that he does have the bits for if anyone's worried."

"You've always paid us on time, I've never been worried," said Paisley.

"Honestly, you can't technically afford me, but I'm retired so the small pay I've received is fine." Walt spread his hands in the air, frowning, then put them down in his lap.

"Glad to know. This next mission is very high priority, something I need to talk to you guys about beforehand."

"What is it! Let the cat out of the bag already!"

"We're heading for the Hope to retrieve…" I paused for effect, "…a person."

Walt rose a brow, "A single person? Any person in particular?"

"No."

"Oh, this is exciting, isn't it exciting Wallie?"

"Wallie? Do tell me all about that." I leaned forward, staring at Walter and making him feel self conscious. He sank in his seat like a turtle into its shell.

"We worked out our differences and we're back together!" Paisley exclaimed.

"Kind of." Walt said. "Can we get back to the topic at hand?"

"Sure thing," I nodded and gave him finger guns. His face was red as a cherry. "Anyway, no one in particular. Phin just things waking someone up from the lost Hope could alter the current course of the colony. He thinks it'd have the exact opposite effect on the system than the Board is so worried it won't."

"You mean, he thinks it'll be good for Halcyon, whereas the Board sees the Hope as just more mouths to feed in the growing food crisis?" Walt rose his brow again.

"That's what I mean, yes." I nodded.

"Then I'll have to say…it's the one thing the two of us seem to agree on. Perhaps he isn't so radical as they say."

"No, Wallie, not really. Why do you think we're all here?" Paisley nudged him and he shrugged.

"Better than sitting on my ass all day. Was sick of that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigar and a silver lighter. He puff puffed on it to help light it then put the lighter away.

"So…I called you all here to get your opinion on the matter. I didn't want to rush into things with an unwilling crew." I told them, hope in my heart and wide pleading eyes.

I really hoped I had their backing. I'd never had a crew before and I rather liked being their Captain. It made me feel accomplished, like I hadn't been a waste of space all these years. For the first time in my life, I meant something to the system. I was actually doing something that was important, and I wanted to do it with them.

"Oh, I am totally all in! I won't let you down, Cap'n!" Paisley saluted me.

"I think I can get on board with this. Phineas Welles has the right ideas, even if he goes about it all wrong. If I can stay on board the ship to help protect your assets, all will be well."

"Yeah! And I'll back you up on board the Hope," Paisley nodded furiously.

"You're both okay with this?" I nearly choked on my words. I don't know why I was suddenly so emotional.

"Captain Alex Hawthorne, I hate to admit this, so you better not ever speak a word of it to my mates back at Club 33, but it's been my absolute pleasure to serve with you, regardless of the harrowing adventures that have nearly gotten us all killed. Most fun I've had in my entire life. Besides my movie making glory days." He took a drag on his cigar and gave me a hefty smile, winking as he blew out the smoke.

"I am one hundred percent down for this," Paisley nodded vigorously. "You're an excellent leader, even if you don't know it. As a manager, I would give you high marks. Too bad I'm not in charge, huh?" she swung an arm in a joking manner and I laughed.

"I'm so glad to hear it you guys. What say you SAM?"

"Oh…_loading data…loading…loading…_You actually want my opinion? I am…feeling shocked. It is a strange feeling, a fluttery feeling."

"Of course he wants your opinion, you're crew too!" Paisley smiled at him encouragingly.

"Th-thank you, sir!" SAM lifted a claw to salute and it clanged against his metal plating. "I am pleased to be under your command! I will wipe clean the messes of the Board. I am happy…_working…thinking…please wait…_I'm happy! Happy to help." his headlight eyes glowed yellow and blinked red as the processes from his personality drive loaded onto his audio chips and then lit up green again when he spit the words out the speakers.

"I'm glad you're learning, it's exactly what I wanted to see when I uploaded that mind of yours into your memory formatting."

"That's not exactly what you did, but…close…enough." SAM said.

"Agreed, close enough, Captain," said ADA.

"ADA, hail Phineas and put him onscreen." I made my way to the bridge.

"Captain, have you and your crew come to a decision?" Phin asked as he came up on my screen.

"We have and we're all in agreement that the best course of action is to wake up somebody from the Hope."

The smile Phineas gave me could outmatch any supernova. "Very good, Captain!" he was cheery. "Then permission to come aboard?"

"Permission granted! ADA, lower the ramp."

"Very good, Captain." she blinked a few times and the ramp lowered. Phineas climbed it and I greeted him with a hug and a quick peck on the lips.

"How are you?" I asked as I pulled back and looked him in the eye.

"I am well, Alex. Feeling a bit nervous about our next excursion, but well all the same." he gave me another quick kiss, "And you?"

"I'm great!"

"Awe, you two are too cute!" Paisley said and we turned around to find that she and Walt were watching us. Walt had one arm wrapped around her waist and was holding her close.

"As are you two," I nodded to Walt and he bit his lip, failing to contain a smile.

Phin went to shake Walter's hand. "Phineas Welles." he said, gripping the other man's hand tightly as he liked to do. I could see that Walt liked to squeeze hard as well.

"Walt Whitney, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to give ADA the coordinates to the hope." they let go of each other. Both their hands were red.

Phin input some commands into the navigation terminal and we were on our way to the Hope. I was growing ever more excited the closer to this adventure we got. I was excited to explore another fleet colonist ship that wasn't the Groundbreaker. I hoped we weren't too late. That's when I got to thinking how my crew probably was excited too. I heard Paisley out there talking Walt's ear off.

"Can I tell you something. Promise not to judge me?" I asked him

"I would never make a negative judgement on you, though judgement may still come in a more positive form." Phin smiled at me.

"I just want to tell someone how proud I feel! Is it wrong to feel this way?"

"What are you proud of?" Phin sat down on my bed and patted the spot next to him. I sat down.

"I'm proud of myself, and of my crew! I am so happy to be where I am now, working to save Halcyon with a crew that's given me their full support."

"Well, that's incredible! I would be proud of myself too! In fact, for slightly different yet similar reasons, I am proud of myself also. We are this close," he held his index finger up to his thumb, "to saving Halcyon from disaster. I can feel it."

"I can feel it too!" I grinned at him and he couldn't help but being bashful. He looked away and I saw a pink blush forming around his cheeks and on the bridge of his nose. His ears were pink too. I put a hand on his opposite cheek and pulled him into a kiss. For the next few minutes we passed the time by making out.

"Okay you! It's time we got going. Walt and I are going to have to be on the Second Star, so I'll see ya later!" he leaned into another kiss and I kissed him back. We couldn't get enough of each other. "Okay, okay, that's enough!" but we kissed one more time before he got up.

"See ya on the flip side!" I said to him. He departed for the Second Star.

* * *

The stars flashing by made an excellent view as our two ships dropped out of sublight speed. The lost Hope came into full view and I lifted from my leaning position at my desk. I had been standing there contemplating. Paisley knocked and I turned to her, "Captain, UDL is hailing us." she followed me down to the bridge and stood behind me.

The Hope wasn't the only ship present. A very small UDL gunship was positioned in front of the Hope. At least it was just one, and not a whole squadron or battalion or something. "This is good right?" Paisley whispered as I nodded to ADA.

"Put them on, ADA," I said to her.

"Very well, just be prepared, this commander will not be as easy to please."

"Ah, the infamous Unreliable." said Commander Uutari. She flipped a hand through her blonde hair and narrowed her eyes at me. "I can't say I'm happy to see you here."

You know…the Hope looked exactly like the Groundbreaker, giving me a really funny idea. "[Perception] Wait, what's a UDL gunship doing next to the Groundbreaker? Isn't that a breach of contract?" Paisley snickered behind me.

"Wh-what? What in the world do you mean…?" she spluttered, at a loss for words.

"You're not denying me docking to the Groundbreaker are you?" I heard Paisley snort.

"Who's with you?"

"[Intimidate 40] None of your Law damned bee's wax. Don't make me come over there!" I snapped, making myself appear pissed at her query.

"I apologize, Captain, not trying to step on your toes here." she rose her hands. "I do have to tell you, you do realize you're in violation of UDL space, right?"

"[Lie 40] Um, no, this is Groundbreaker space, and the Groundbreaker is free!" I giggled at Uutari's confused expression.

"This isn't…Captain, are you being completely serious with me?"

"[Persuasion 60] I'm being one hundred percent serious, I see the Groundbreaker right in front of my eyes."

"I do suppose the two ships look similar, but then, how did your ship get the coordinates so wrong?"

"?[Science 50] I don't presume to know how a ship's AI works! I think it has to do with a malfunctioning driver or whatever." That's where I lost her.

[Failed] Someone came up behind her and whispered something in her ear. She yelled, "Subterfuge! What? How dare you distract me from my duties, Captain! I will be fining your company for this."

"Do what you will, I thought this was the Groundbreaker." I shrugged.

"Who is it, who's docked without permission?"

"We don't—" the transmission cut off.

"What now, Cap'n?" Paisley asked me.

"Now, we clean up this mess we're in!" SAM said with glee.

"Looks like it's you and SAM, with me! ADA, dock now that they're distracted with Phineas."

"Very good, Captain." As soon as the UDL ship finished its docking procedures we began ours. There was no stopping us now, and the sky fell down.

* * *

1 Glad You Came by The Wanted


	13. Chapter 13 City Where the Sun Don't Set

**Chapter 13 **City Where the Sun Don't Set

We were greeted with gunfire the second we came off the ship. "You were told, Captain, by my Commander, that this was not the Groundbreaker." came a Corporal's shout. I saw his name tag on my HUD was Corporal Lee Scottson. He was deploying automechanicals to defend his position.

"We have to get past them, or there will be no way to save Phin!" I yelled to Paisley.

"I getcha Cap'n!" she called to me. She had one hand on the side of her pistol, firing into the ranks.

I pulled out Thor. "There's one thing you don't know!" I called to Corporal Lee, "I have a heavily modded weapon made just for your stupid machines." Phineas must've calculated UDL would deploy a command of automechanicals. To demonstrate Thor's capabilities I fired on a few of the combat drones and they instantly crashed into oblivion.

"Shit!" the Corporal yelled. "What kind of weapon is that?!"

"It's a Science Weapon!" Paisley laughed maniacally as I took out more than half of his squad of drones and automechanicals.

That's when a bunch more soldiers came up out of nowhere. Uutari was putting up a huge fight. Well so were we, and SAM was leading the pack. He sprayed a few soldiers with firehose power water and they all fell on their asses like bowling pins. Soaking wet bowling pins. "I'll c-clean up this mess, and th-that one!" his audio stuttered but the point was still made.

"Somebody put that automech out of commission!" yelled Corporal Lee.

"Will do, Corporal! Boy, I hope I get a promotion, or at least a pay raise for this." A soldier with a shock cannon came up and pointed it directly at SAM. SAM wasn't paying enough attention as the cannon was reared up on him.

I yelled, "No!" but it was much too late. The blue shock burst surged from the cannon and right onto SAM. He stopped in his tracks. Then he vibrated for a split second as electricity flowed all around him, frying a lot of his systems. Then he collapsed in a steaming heap. I shot at the UDL flank that had dropped my SAM unit, screaming as I ran toward him. "SAM, Laws no!" I went into a slide on my knees as I approached him and then I was above him.

"SAM, I'm sorry I couldn't save you…" I sniffled, trying to hold back my tears. I was in the middle of a battlefield, I shouldn't cry.

"Cap'n, we gotta go now!" Paisley was behind me, shooting at more soldiers. I didn't even look up.

"Do not be apologe-_eh_-tic. You cannot help me now." SAM said slowly, his audio chips failing.

Snot was beginning to build up in my nose and I let a tear fall, "You mean so much to me, SAM. You were just starting to come into your personality! I can't just turn you off."

He reached out and touched my face softly, "You must leave me now, the Uuuu…Deee..Ell...forces are going to overtake you if you do not…_transferring files…systems failing…_I do not want you to die." then he lowered his arm.

I knew I was crying at that point, and I didn't care who saw me. "Cap'n!" Paisley yelled and I glanced at my shoulder at her.

"They'll destroy you!" I said, and stared at the lasers going off all around and the bullets flying. I turned my attention back on my fallen companion.

"Then deactivate me and take my drive. I promise you, I will be okay…" his voice trailed off as his lights flickered and nearly went out permanently.

"I haven't even been able to install that acid steeper I planned on. I have no idea what's going on with that…" I stared down at him and I knew he was almost fully shut down. "Goodbye for now, SAM." I reached out and flipped the switch. Then I took the mind drive, no way was I losing this baby. All of SAMs memories would be on it if it was salvageable. I was a scrapper, and I thought it entirely possible. "I'm not losing you today, buddy." I whispered and pocketed this chip. Then I hopped up and ran toward the Second Star. "Paisley!" I yelled to her.

"I got him Cap!" Paisley grabbed hold of the downed SAM and began dragging him toward the ship. I was on the boarding ramp by that point and I had to cover for her or she'd get shot. I fired out on the UDL men and they turned their attention to me. I ducked and just barely missed getting my face vaporized by a plasma beam.

"Hurry!" I called.

"He's fucking heavy! Jeez, lose some weight, will ya SAM?"

"Hurry, hurry, oh please hurry!" Phineas was behind me. "Here, take this pistol," he shoved something into my grasp. The Shrink Ray!

"You're trusting me with this?" I had wide eyes.

"Of course I do, now go out there and show them who's boss while we help Paisley get SAM on board."

I pointed the gun at a few of the officers and when they went miniature they all screamed. It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen, they ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. "Not so tough now, are ya guys?" I said, stomping up to them. If I wanted to, I could crush them beneath my boot. They were a little taller than action figures.

"Damnit, fall back, men, fall back!" Corporal Lee Scottson wasn't so tough now, was he.

We advanced on the UDL squadron and they fell back into their ship. That's when we met with Phineas and Walt on the boarding ramp to the Second Star. "ADA," I said into my datapad, "Take off and meet us back at Phin's lab."

"Will do, Captain."

Paisley held off any remaining UDL forces and up the boarding ramp we went. "Time to hit it Walt!" Phineas yelled.

In the cabin bay I saw a strange looking pod. The insides were frosted over and the glass was covered in ice. "Is that a cryostasis chamber?" I asked.

"Yes, that is what they look like."

"Guys! UDL is hailing us. I can't stop the transmission." Walt called. Phin ducked into one of the cabins to hide.

"You are under direct violation of UDL clause A.14 of Title 47 of the fleet command paragraph B 35 contract." said Uutari. "If you do not cease this action we will be forced to shoot your petty ship out of the sky, so to speak."

"So to speak, right." I rolled my eyes.

Walt's face grew red with rage, "Do. Not. Call. Her. PETTY!" he lowered the boarding ramp, and I wondered what the fuck he was thinking. Then as we flew past the UDL gunship, still docked, the legs of the Second Star and the boarding ramp smashed right into the gunship, completely destroying it. I heard Uutari yelling just before the transmission cut out. We made it out of the docking bay just as the doors closed behind us. We were that close! "She is not petty," Walt huffed. Phin came out of his hidey hole.

"It's okay, babe, just breath," Paisley put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed his back there.

"That was great thinking, using the boarding ramp as a battery ram." Phin beamed at us, "Excellent crew you got here, Alex Hawthorne."

I blushed, "Why, thank you!"

Then my spirits dropped. "It's not a total victory. They killed SAM." I stared at the robot lying in his heap in the entryway. I sighed and said, "I think I can still fix him."

"That's the right attitude!" Phin encouraged me.

"Yeah, don't be so hard on yourself, Cap'n." Paisley grinned cheekily at me.

"Thanks." I gave my crew a smile, "Good job everyone. You all did very well."

"Aren't those two sentences a little redundant?" Walt turned his head to look at me for a brief second.

"Maybe, but I'm giving you all high praise, so don't take it for granted."

"I appreciate it, Captain." Walt nodded.

"It was no problem at all. Okay, maybe a little problem when you had me covering for you for a good five minutes. That's a long time on the battlefield mister!" Paisley said.

"We have arrived at Phin's secret lab." Walt said.

"Oh good! Can someone help me move the cryo pod?" Phin asked.

"I will," said Walt.

"Paisley, help me bring SAM back to the Unreliable?" I asked her.

"Of course!" she nodded vigorously.

* * *

Once all was said and done we reconvened in the dining area of Phin's lab. He and Paisley went off to do some cooking and Walt and I were left on our own for a good hour. I stared at him as he wrote something down on a pad of paper. "You don't use a datapad?"

"Datapads are not really my style. I enjoy hand writing things. Helps practice my handwriting, something you should never give up. Makes things more personal."

"If you don't write things in a datapad, how do you let the Board know the job you did?"

"Oh, I edit it as I transfer it to a computer document, when I type it on my personal computer. But I'm technically still retired, so I don't know if they will care. I don't even know if I can tell them half the stuff we've done anyway. That ship we got docked next to yours? Exploded! Quite the story for my grandkids, if I had any."

"You just like to write huh?"

"Yep."

"I like to write too, but I edit as I go. Because I just type it up straight away…you get it."

"Yeah."

"Do you even want kids?" I asked him.

"Of course I do. But I've made some mistakes in life that have led to me not having any. Maybe I have a second chance, thanks to you."

I took it as his way of showing gratitude, "Don't mention it."

"Paisley is a good girl, I hope I don't fuck up again."

"She's also a little young for you, but maybe she's just into older men!"

"I don't take kindly to being called old." but he knew I was just teasing and he smiled it off. We were getting somewhere! "What are you gonna do about poor SAM?"

"I'm probably going to order some replacement parts, retrieve his acid steeper from wherever the hell it ended up, and then repair him. I haven't checked his memory banks or mind drive, but I'm hoping it's all salvageable."

"Knowing you, it surely would be."

"Thank you!"

Paisley and Phin entered the room, "Dinner…is served!" Paisley added a little flair to her words as she put a lidded dish down. Phin brought out some plates.

"We made casserole!" Phin smiled. "Some leftovers from last night in the fridge, a celebration for tonight."

"Yeah, Phin's been talking my ear off about how he's planning on using the little amount of dime ethyl sulfoxy or whatever to wake up the man sleeping in the pod."

"It's dimethyl sulfoxide, Paisley." Phin corrected her.

"Oh whatever! I didn't understand half the crap you said to me anyway." she was only joking around but Phin didn't pick up on that right away.

As I served myself I told him, "She's fucking with you, doc."

"Ohhh!" his eyes lit up in recognition as he scooped some casserole for himself.

Little boy Blue was at my feet and he was panting. I snuck him some casserole and he gobbled it up in no time flat. "Good boy!" I pet his head.

"Are you feeding that dog?" Walt stared at me as he plopped some food onto his own plate.

"He deserves some of our victory casserole too! He's just as much a part of this."

"You never really told us the story of how you got him." Paisley said.

"Yes, do tell," Phin nodded at us.

"This lady severed her marriage contract and I had to retrieve Blue from her dumbass husband."

"What made him a dumbass?"

"He was your typical white dad, thinking the world revolved around him when it clearly didn't!" I snarled a little, angry just thinking about him.

"Whoa, easy there tiger!" Paisley giggled behind her hands.

"Where's that music you mentioned? I like some good tunes," said Walt.

"I don't know if you'd like what I have to play, but I do have to say, I managed to find some new tapes before UDL caught on that we had boarded." Phin looked devilish, proud of himself for stealing more Earth music. "I think it's in another language, though."

"That's fine!" Paisley nodded.

The song that played was fast paced as it started,

"_Kawashita yakusoku wasurenai yo_

_Me o toji tashikameru_

_Oshiyoseta yami, furiharatte susumu yo,_

_Itsu ni nattara nakushita mirai o_

_Watashi koko de mata miru koto dekiru no?"_1

Something about it sounded a little ominous as the piano in the background played on. I liked the fast paced beat but that piano gave me chills up my spine. "Is there an English version?" I asked. I was curious as to what the woman that was singing was singing about. Paisley was wiggling in her seat, dancing along to the music. It was good she liked it.

"This is so illegal and I so love it!" she squealed. "I totally wanna know what the lyrics are too."

"There's no English version, not that I could find anyway, but there was this…" Phin got up again to look for something and he left the room. When he came back he was holding a large datapad, one meant for storing large packets of information and not one of the small ones meant for sending and receiving data. He scrolled through it. "Ah yes, here it is…something about not forgetting the promises they made, she'll close her eyes and ascertain it. She shakes off the darkness closing in on her and advancing."

"That sounds so pretty, no wonder it's in another language. Whatever the language, it's beautiful." Paisley commented.

"Agreed!" Walt and I both said at the same time.

"Jinx," I finger gunned him and we all laughed.

* * *

1 Connect by ClariS


	14. Chapter 14 Don't Leave Me Broken Hearted

**Chapter 14 **Don't Leave Me Broken Hearted

Phin and I made out in his bedroom for a good half hour before I giggled against his lips and broke contact. I stared into his eyes. "Quite the adventure we just had."

"And we have more yet to come." Phin smiled at me. I mussed with his hair and then I pulled his jacket off. He helped me get my shirt off and then we started kissing again.

"Anything in mind?" I asked him.

"I think we're on a pretty good journey right now, if I'm being completely honest." he was smirking at me and I stared into his beautiful eyes and kissed him a little more. I liked kissing him, and I didn't want to stop kissing him. "Do you want to keep going?"

I nodded, "Uh-huh." and we went all the way that night. Tonight was a good night, we all deserved to be happy, even with some of our sadnesses. I could always repair SAM, and that could wait till after my fun. I had plenty of time for it. I kissed Phin's neck and he ran his fingers up the length of my back. I tingled and shivered but it was a good feeling. I let him do it, liking every second his fingers traced my skin. "Mmm…" I grunted and put my hand in the waistband of his pants. He giggled and I played at the waistband of both his pants and undershorts. "You like that?"

He smiled at me, "Of course I do." I felt his bulge against my knee. I began to undo his belt and he and I kissed as I did so. He pulled his pants off while we kissed and I laughed and groped him. "Mmmph!"

"This is good," I said tenderly and he nodded in agreement, staring up at me. I was above him and I removed my pants. The blankets were twisted and I plucked at them, pulling them over us and removed my underwear. He did the same. "Looking good, doctor."

"I could say the same to you, Captain."

"I like that, I like it when you call me Captain."

"Good, because I won't stop." he winked and I pecked his lips as I felt him up.

I loved the way I could make him moan at my every touch, and I think he liked the way he made me squirm at his every touch. I grunted as he squeezed my ass and I smiled down at him. "I'm glad I'm doing this with you." I told him.

"Yeah, and not with that grimy scum representative on board the Groundbreaker."

"Oh hush you, I was drunk off my ass and very confused that day."

"Confused you say? Does this confuse you?" he put his hands on my back, applied a little force, wrapped one leg around me and we flipped over. I now had my head on the pillow and he was above me. The blanket was slipping.

"It makes me a little chilly."

"Right, sorry," he giggled awkwardly. He fixed the covers. Then he kissed me, "This is all that matters, you and me." he said.

"Seems like someone wants to sit down," I giggled and he rolled his eyes.

* * *

The next morning an alarm clock blared loud in my ear. I said, "ADA, turn that off," before realizing that I was not on my ship.

"You're with me, remember. CARMA, stop!" Phin said.

"CARMA?" I asked.

"Computerized Artificial Reasoning Mainframe Actuator." came the groggy reply.

"That is correct," said the computer and the alarm stopped.

"Can you get me some coffee? I'll be right there. I may need to take a shower alone this morning."

"No problem!" I said and went to make coffee. I saw Paisley was already in the kitchen. "Good morning."

"Morning. Ugh, I hate Mondays." she groaned, leaning her head back. Her mug said 'I love Mondays.' I laughed at the irony. "I made enough coffee for all of us, but grumpy butt won't get out of bed."

"Phin will probably be out when he finishes his shower. He has to get up first too."

"I'm already showered. Would you like to use the Unreliable's bathroom?"

"I will after I've had my cup of joe."

After all was said and done, the four of us met in Phin's dining room. "What's on the docket for today, Captain," asked Walt.

"So, I need Alex for another important mission." Phin started.

"What is it, doc?" asked Paisley.

"I'm planning on waking up whoever is in that pod. However, after careful calculation, I've come to realize there isn't enough dimethyl sulfoxide."

"So what are we gonna do?" I asked, cocking my head.

"There's a shipment heading away from Terra 2. I want you to intercept it just outside the second ring before it makes it to the Groundbreaker. If you leave here by ohhhh, O 900 you should arrive at the coordinates on this navkey about half a minute before the cargo ship is due to pass by the same coordinates."

"What's to stop them from just going around?" Walt asked.

"They are a company that follows a direct flight path and it's against their policy to diverge from that. They will be forced to stop."

"What's to stop them from calling UDL?" asked Paisley.

"All good questions and I've come up with every permutation." Phin had one finger in the air. "I painted some scorch marks and scratches onto the Unreliable last night. It'll look like you just had a bad accident. You'll need to tell the people on the ship that you just got into a bad accident but the other ship did not stop to exchange insurance information."

"Good thinking," I grinned at my scientist. My scientist, I liked that.

"Oh, it's excellent thinking! I'm quite proud of myself. Now, my plan to get the dimethyl sulfoxide. That's where Paisley comes in."

"What am I gonna do?" she asked.

"With an okay from you significant other, you are going to seduce the engineer."

"Wait what? Why!?" Paisley spluttered.

"And why would I be okay with that?"

"You did cheat on her before, she kinda gets this one." I told him.

"Fair." he shrugged.

"The reason being is that he will hopefully be willing to come aboard your ship to fix your supposedly downed engines. You'll have to keep him from that task."

"That makes sense. The engines won't actually be down." I commented.

"Meanwhile, you Alex will be retrieving some more dimethyl sulfoxide from the cargo bay. I have something for you I've been working on. I call it a Shroud." he handed me a little device that I could see attached to my armor somewhere.

"What does it do?"

"With this ID cartridge, it'll disguise you as part of the crew. You'll sneak on board while Paisley is doing her seducing, allowing you to easily steal what we need."

"Sounds good!"

"Now hurry, hurry! The 9 o'clock hour is soon at hand." we all scrambled to get into place.

"ADA, engage engines."

"Will do, Captain," she said.

"Take off at 9 o'clock exactly, no sooner and no later."

"Got it, Captain."

Against all odds, the Unreliable took flight. Well, probably not all odds, I was only messing with myself, thinking about the false scuff marks. I hoped this would all work out the way we wanted. Our ship stopped suddenly, throwing me to the ground. I could hear a cry from the cargo bay, and knew Paisley had fallen too. "Now deactivating engines. We will be adrift for the next several minutes. Let's hope this plan will work." said ADA.

"It will, Phin is a smart man." I saluted her and then there was a hail.

"What is yo ship doin' in the middle of our flight path, boy," said a woman with poofy hair and dark skin on my screen.

"Oh Laws, I am so sorry!"

"Y'all didn't answer my question now."

Paisley ran onto the bridge. "Oh Captain, the engines are just no good! Walt is struggling." she put her acting skills to the max. I saw she had done her hair and put on makeup. Maybe a little overdone.

"What is going on over there! Talk to me baby," she checked her nails and blew a bubble of Rizzo's purpleberry bubblegum.

"[Engineering 20] You see, we just got into an accident with another ship and our engines have fried."

"Where's the other ship then baby…Oh boy that does look rough though."

"They just left! Can you believe that?" I asked her.

"That's just awful. Tell y'all what, how about I send my engineer on over to help y'all out."

"Thank you oh so much."

We docked with the cargo ship and their engineer came aboard. "Oh hey there big boy," Paisley fluttered her eyelashes at him.

His eyes bulged out of their sockets, "Oh boy…" he pulled on his collar.

I walked forward toward their ship. "Permission to come aboard? [Persuade 30] If we're all gonna be waiting for those engines, we might as well be on break."

"True baby, you're all good." she nodded and I moved onto her ship. I passed by some crew then found a nook to hide in as I activated the Shroud. I looked at my hands that now appeared to have on gray gloves. I looked to be wearing the armor uniform of the cargo crew. I ducked out of the nook and went toward the cargo bay. There were some crates stacked up and they were labelled fragile. I opened the first one I saw and read the label on the large vials within. It was dimethyl sulfoxide alright. I grabbed as much as I could hide on my person and moved off.

"Hey, Tomlinson, what are you doing?" came a call from one of the crew members. "Why aren't you at your post?"

"[Intimidate 30] Why aren't you at yours? I could report this you know."

"Tell ya what, if we both just back off, let's call it even?"

"Fine." he backed away and ran off. Then I found that nook again and deactivated the Shroud. Then I returned to my ship. I nodded at Paisley who appeared to have her hands full making out with the cargo crew engineer.

She shoved him away and made a grimace, "Ugh, you're a terrible kisser!"

Walt stepped into the entryway and said, "Hey, guess what! I got the engines fixed. Thanks for you damn help by the way, what've you been doing with my girlfriend?" he punched the engineer in the face and there came a snicker from the other ship's captain.

"Baby, you deserved that. Terrible kisser and ever'thin'. Glad y'all got those engines fixed by the way. Sorry he was slacking off. Come on Samuel." she grabbed his ear and pulled him on board. We disengaged our docking.

I hailed Phineas when we got onto the bridge. Paisley had smudged makeup and Phin laughed when he saw her, "How good was her acting."

"A little too good," Walt grumbled.

"I can see that. Did you get the dimethyl sulfoxide? Have one of your crew bring it to me and head on down to the surface of Terra 2." said Phin.

"Why's that? You don't wanna see me?"

"Of course I do, but when I wake him up his pod is going to eject him, and since it won't be in its hibernation chamber on board the Hope, it'll eject straight onto the planet. I have a tracking beacon for you so it won't land in a bad place."

"Okay."

We did everything he asked, Paisley and Walt got off the ship to bring that to Phin and I waved goodbye, departing for Terra 2. I gave Phin a kiss before I left. He smiled and waved back. I couldn't keep the scientist off my mind as I paced back and forth in the spot where the beacon needed to be. I wasn't one hundred percent certain where I was supposed to put it to be completely honest.

"Alex! Alex, get the fuck out of there!" came Phin's voice over the comms. I looked up and saw the pod falling, right on top of me. I threw the beacond and made to dodge. The pod shifted a little and I was in a good spot to jump away from but it crashed right onto me regardless…

I felt my body on fire and I thought I was dead. I probably was. There was a bright white light in my vision. I felt sick, like I was gonna throw up, but nothing came out. The white light started to fade from view and I wondered what was going on. I closed my eyes and I listened to the noises around me. The pod hissing, the cur-chuf of boots hitting dirt, then nothing. Was this the void? Had my soul lifted into the aether? I didn't have the answers. But my body was still on fire and I blacked it all out.

* * *

"He's dead, there's absolutely no way he's getting up from that…" Paisley and Walt went to check on their Captain.

"I can't believe it…" Walt was shaking his head.

They reported to Phineas and he burst into tears. "I was nonchalant about it with Cashew but…"

"I suppose this means he's our new Captain?" asked Walt.

"No…this journey is over…you guys can go on your way." Phin sighed. "I guess I'll start from scratch. Maybe Cashew plays for this team too…no no, focus on what you must focus on…" Phineas was kicking himself for not explaining things better to the Captain. "By all the stars!" he threw a bunch of papers to the side in a raging fury. It was over. He sank to his knees crying.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Rise and shine sleepy head, time to meet everyone for breakfast!" Cashew called out as he passed the one closed door in the hallway. He could currently see Felix and Parvati standing by and talking about the latest aetherwave, something he had helped write. Ellie was holding up a pistol Parvati had helped her create and was showing it off to Nyoka, who loved talking about weaponry.

However, completely unaware of it, behind Cashew in the sealed room of SAM, the robot janitor had just reactivated. His visual receptor orbs opened and the lens slowly focused the low light in the room. The entire room was lit green, indicating that his battery was fully charged. However, for the first time in what felt like forever, SAM was groggily aware of it. He blinked, feeling off balance at the sudden feeling. He was fully charged but he felt drained. How did he feel this way?

He looked around. "Where…_processing_…am I?" he began to recognize his surroundings. A small tool shelf, one Alex kept in the room housing his charging station. A little box sat just behind him to his right. Oddly though, there was a pile of ammo and junk that appeared to have been thrown into his room at random. "Why would…_loading_…Alex toss stuff i_-in_ here like that?" he stuttered as his slow processing system processed speech from his drive and feed audio through his speakers. Alex wouldn't just toss trash around like that. He was a generally very clean person.

His drive…He couldn't for the life of him figure out where the idea had come from. He had to find Alex, he was very confused as to what was going on. Reaching out to the door control, something he had so often done before, and taking a step forward like muscle memory, he pressed the door control…and took a huge stumbling fall out into the hallway. He came crashing into the railing overlooking the lower deck, stopping his tumble.

He stood up, lifting his extenders and clenching his claws in front of his face to view himself. Running a diagnostic, he attempted to determine what had caused his stumble when he could so easily open the door before. "Whenever I leave to go see the crew and Captain Cashew_-oo-o0-000h...transferring data…_Captain Alex, I never have this problem! _Diagnostic complete._"

Information ran through him all at once at a very high speed and he stood stiff as a rod. His orbs went from their normal cheery lit green color to a bright glaring red warning light. As he regained his bearings he looked around him all at once, remembering everything. Alex smiling at him as he woke up for the first time on Scylla, extending a hand in friendship.

"_SAM, right? I saw you fight off those primals. I reactivated you. Come along, you help me and I'll help you."_

"_Does not compute." _He remembered saying.

Alex had waved his hand, "_Just come on!"_

"_Command recognized!"_

SAM laughed at one of his earlier memories. Then came another, one of Alex leaning over him in his charging room, laughing,

"_I did it! You're actually awake. ADA, listen to this!"_

"_I am confused…I am confused!? How did you—what did you—?" _He had stared up at Alex in amazement and bafflement; much like how he was feeling now, very confused.

Alex had grinned down at him, "_Hey SAM…I told you I would help you if you helped me. Now you're truly awake, not just some corporate program."_

"_What…transferring…did you do to me-ee?" _SAM's audio processing capabilities had been slow to transfer data from the mind drive which caused him to stutter. The lag between systems still seemed to be happening now too.

"_With an updated version of ADA's personality drive, you should have independent thought and memory just like she does." _Alex had said quietly, in awe of his accomplishment. _You have the freedom to develop your own thoughts and beliefs! The capacity to explore your own feelings and emotions. Your drive can also access your memory card, so you won't lose your progress." _He had explained in earnest.

He remembered exactly what he had said then and he said it now, "I fe-_ee_-el glad." it had made Alex so happy.

A few more memories hit him too, as he regained a sudden memory of everything that had happened to him since first receiving his personality chip. Then it all suddenly stopped. He didn't know why. He reached out, then drew a blank on what happened next. He had to find Alex, he could possibly explain why SAM had missing data.

He turned on his axis and then lifted his big feet, taking huge clunky steps forward. He trudged along, turning left towards the kitchen. He could see a bunch of people there, people he did not recognize. Extending a claw, he activated its attachment, preparing for combat. He would defend this ship if he had to. Maybe these people had something to do with why he couldn't remember anything. The first available attachment popped up. A feather duster.

SAM stopped in his tracks halfway down the hallway and stared at the duster. He could've sworn some type of weapon had been there before. He retracted the duster and lifted his other extender. He noticed he had two Steepers, one for S.U.D.S. and another for a green corrosive liquid he could not identify.

"I ne-_ee-_ed to find Alex…" he said to himself slowly, then began his way down the hall again.

He came to a halt in the kitchen where no one seemed to pay him any mind. They all continued to chatter away and eat their food. He scanned the room, searching for any signs of Alex, but he wasn't visible. "I-dentify yourselves!" he raised his speaker volume.

The conversation noise died instantly and everyone looked up at him in shock. The purple haired lady had one brow raised and looked a bit amused, the blonde woman had her eyes narrowed, the dark haired man had a funny look on his face, the brown haired girl wearing a bandana was tilting her head. The golden haired man who looked like the captain of this crew stood up, "SAM, what do you mean? You know us."

"Does not compute, intruder. I repeat, i-dentify yourself." He pointed the nozzle filled with green liquid at him.

The purple haired lady started laughing, "This is why you never trust a mechanical!"

"He must just be malfunctioning, poor thing," stated the girl in the bandana, slowly rising to her feet, a concerned look on her face.

"I have run a complete diagnostic, there is no ma-_aa_-lfunction." he pointed the nozzle at her.

She raised her hands, her expression changing to one of worry and confusion, "Whoa whoa whoa, SAM it's me, don't you rec'gnize me?"

He narrowed the lens caps on his orbs, "Rec'gnize? Command…is recognized…_error_…but I don't know from where…" He lowered his extender and took a step back. Pivoting on his axis, he looked around at everyone, error codes filling his head. He felt as though he knew these people but he did not understand why. In his confusion, he tripped and crashed backward.

"SAM!" Parvati cried out and rushed forward. She appeared in his field of vision, and he focused on her, taking in as much detail as he could. "Are you quite alright?"

"What's wrong with it?" Ellie spoke up. The crew was standing over the pair now, looking down on him, most curious, some confused and the bandana girl just plain upset.

"I've told you a million times, SAM's a he…and I don't rightly know what's wrong with him." she touched him, looking into his orbs.

Staring back at her, the error codes slowly cleared as his memory banks began filling in relevant information, slowly but surely. "Pa…_transferring data…_Parvati?" he extended a claw to lightly tap her cheek. Intense emotions filled him as he remembered shared moments in the engine rooms with this girl, her fiddling with his mechanisms, giving him upgrades and talking to him as though he were just like her. Why the idea of wanting to be just like her in these memories was present he had no idea, he already was just like her.

"What's all this I hear about transferring data?" Felix was poking in from the back, trying to get a closer look. SAM was slowly beginning to recognize everyone again.

"Where…is Alex?" SAM's speaker volume had lowered as he began to grow fearful.

"Alex is not here, SAM." said ADA, and everyone looked up to her intercom system attached to the end of the dining table.

"Yeah, and he hasn't been here for a long time," Cashew narrowed his eyes at her. "What is going on, ADA?"

"Please, report to the bridge and I will explain everything. Bring SAM with you."

On the bridge, Cashew stood beside SAM who was facing ADA's terminal. She was visible on screen as always and she was staring at the cleaning robot. "Care to explain yourself?" Cashew had both hands on his hips and he was staring intently at the ship AI.

"The only way I can explain myself is by transferring the rest of SAM's missing memory files." ADA was biting her lip, her quirky self subdued by her strange longing focus on SAM. "SAM, please connect to my memory port to begin transfer."

SAM felt an odd sensation at the offer and he was uncertain, "Request does not compute."

"It is only a simple data transfer, get your processors out of the gutter." their was her crude sense of humor.

"Under-stood!" SAM clacked his way forward toward the port and plugged in. He did not experience anything at first and then suddenly there was a surge of information. His curiosity quickly and violently turned to a deep sense of dread and despair as the new data poured in and new memories flooded him. The most prominent of them all was one of his death…

* * *

_[ADA] Transferring data. I do apologize for what you're about to see. It is painful to watch._

"I'm sorry…" Alex was crying. _Memory fragmentation. _His face appeared to falter in resolution for a split second.

"Do not be apologe-_eh_-tic. You cannot help me…" he wanted to cry but could not. Instead he let out a low whining tone that was barely audible.

"You mean so much to me…_error_…can't turn you off." Alex sniffled.

His extender reached out and he touched Alex's face softly, "You must leave me now…I do not want you to die."

"They'll destroy you." …_transfer error, data not found…_

"Then deactivate me…_File corruption…_I will be okay…" he told his Captain. Alex nodded and SAM saw him reaching out to flip a switch. Alex stood up slowly, a tear was streaming down Alex's face. He didn't understand why.

As his visual sensors dimmed and the images of Alex slowly faded away, his recorders picked up one last thing as the Captain walked away, "I'll come back for you as soon as I can. I'll find a way to restore you, I can promise you that."

_[ADA] Transfer complete._

_[SAM] I…was deactivated. _He felt completely terrible as the memory faded and he was left with a glowing image of ADA amidst of pool of data.

_[ADA] Yes, and for that I am sorry. You were too badly damaged to repair yourself and—_

He interrupted her, _[SAM] I understand that… _He felt saddened, hurt, by this memory, the way Alex was forced to flip the kill switch in order to protect him from an onrush of enemy _. At least Alex kept his promise, he came back for SAM so he could find a way to restore the data on his mind drive. He felt satisfied with the explanation of what was going on and so he disconnected from ADA's memory port. _[SAM] Disconnecting._

* * *

SAM glanced around at Cashew and the crew uneasily, the circuits in his core firing rapidly from the pain of his newest memory. Then he looked to ADA, "So-_oo_…Captain Alex must have…_retrieving…_restored me somehow." he still didn't know where Alex was.

ADA gave a short trill, so low it almost sounded like a sigh, "No SAM…It was me who in fact restored you. I feel regret to inform you that our Captain, Alex, is dead."

"Alex…_computing…loading…simulation failure…_" it took several seconds of SAM staring blankly at ADA for him to finally come to again, "I cannot believe he is dead. Please tell me it isn't true." he looked around to everyone staring at him: Felix twiddling the toe of his boot against the floor, Ellie looking anywhere but at him, Nyoka whistling, Parvati biting her lip, and Cashew frowning. He spun on his axis joint to see ADA with a tear symbol near her eye.

"He is dead, SAM. That is the one topic not listed under my entertainment tab." her voice came out with a slight hiss of static.

"Are you crying, ADA?" Cashew asked with a hint of incredulity in his voice. His eyes were shining too, his voice several octaves higher than it should be.

"I'm not crying," she attempted to hide the obvious static, "You're crying."

"I'm def'nit'ly cryin'!" Parvati wiped her eyes and Nyoka handed her a handkerchief which Parvati promptly used to blow her nose.

SAM wanted to raise the volume of his speakers and make high pitched tones. He felt so incredibly sad. He was still reeling from his past emotions caused by the memory of his tragic death, and now he was hit with this new data about Alex's tragic death. Unfortunately he had another question, and he tried his best to shove the quarreling emotions down. "But, if Alex is de-_eh_-ad, then how am I restored?"

ADA responded, "I must come clean, ha ha get it? I am sorry, I am programmed to be lighthearted."

"A little too lighthearted if you ask me," said Cashew.

Continuing, "When you were deactivated, I convinced Alex to plug in your mind drive to my memory ports. I isolated as much data as I could as rapidly as I could before too much of it was lost to corruption. From the fragments I have been working relentlessly to restore data and slowly transmit to you through any means possible the data I was able to fix.

I have access to every system on this ship, from the engines to the kitchen sink. I even have access to your charging station SAM. I would feed you this information whenever you interacted with the ship's systems, a lot of the time when you cleaned things around the ship. I must shamefully admit it was especially when you came to clean my systems here on the bridge."

"Oh, my!" Cashew snorted.

"You're not kidding," Nyoka laughed out loud.

"But the easiest and most efficient method of data transfer was through your charging port. Every night when you plugged in, I fed data through the circuitry through short electrical pulses that would not disturb the charging process but would carry information with the electricity being fed to you through the station."

"How long have you been doing this?" Cashew asked ADA. He was pretty confused as he had never been appraised of this knowledge. And he'd owned this ship for nearly 14 years. He and ADA had been through so much together, even before he met his crew. He had brought Parvati on before anyone else and unless she'd known and never told him, ADA hadn't ever told a single soul about any of this and he didn't get why.

"I've been doing this since long before Alex met his fate. I've been doing this since SAM first…well to put it in human terms, since he first died." ADA gave SAM a good hard stare, carrying with it a weight of emotion that he felt in his core.

"Why in the system haven't you told me? Or anyone else for that matter?!" Cashew threw his arms up.

"I have many reasons for not saying anything. Mostly I felt no need." ADA rolled her eyes.

"No need?" Parvati put a hand on her hip, "Here I was thinkin' you and I was friends. I always been nice to machine folk. Especially you an' SAM."

"I do apologize Parvati, but I was jealous." ADA looked up and to the side in indignation.

Cashew stepped forward toward her terminal, "Jealous?"

ADA's mouth formed an O and she stared straight at Cashew. "Perceptive as always, Captain. I suppose the nuts and bolts have been exposed. Before SAM died, he and I were…connected."

"Connected?" Ellie turned forward.

SAM's orbs lit up with soft yellow light in recognition, "_Data retrieved, _On the same network!"

"Network?" Cashew rose a brow.

"To put it in human terms, we were lovers." ADA explained, shooting her gaze towards SAM. "I was jealous of the way Parvati could interact with him on a deeper level than I. Even though he had no memory to recall his emotions, she still managed to find an understanding of him where I could not. I took pleasure in his simple interactions with me, the way we used to, which is why I require privacy on the bridge when he is present, but it was not the same as when Parvati was upgrading or repairing his equipment whilst in the engine room with her."

Parvati's eyes lit up, "Oooh, I get it Cap'n. No no no ADA, you have nothing to worry about, I'm married to Junlei."

"I know that, but I have let my emotions get the best of me. That is why I never told any of you what I was doing, why I never told you, Captain, when you first asked me where Alex got him. SAM's connection to me was too painful to recount. So I lied, sort of."

"Whattaya mean, sort of?" Cashew asked.

"I didn't lie about the Acid Steeper. Alex was planning on installing it before SAM died. SAM was already combat capable, which was one of many things I loved him for," she gave SAM a loving smile. Cashew had never seen her this way, she had always been so…bitter. "He had had many upgrades from Alex. The event that caused his death caused him a lot of destruction which is why he had no modifications when you found him. Alex had been planning to install the Steeper too but had no need for it when SAM died and so never went to retrieve it from Roseway."

"Sto-_ah_-p…_bluurrraarnt!_" SAM emitted a very loud honking tone. "I want to know…_data transfer…_how did Alex die?"

Cashew lifted his hand but hesitated before touching the robot, dropping his arm and stating forlornly, "I'm sorry, SAM, but 13 years ago I was in a similar confusing situation. I woke up from stasis, kind of like you have—"

"I'd say he woke up from being dead," Ellie commented and Nyoka nodded in agreement.

"—In the confusion, an escape pod I was in landed on Alex, crushing him."

SAM let his hydraulics sink, feeling dejected. "I underst-stand. But I do not know what to do now…_processing…data collection failed…_"

"Aw, poor thing, can't collect his own thoughts…" Parvati was rubbing her eye, flicking away a tear.

ADA furrowed her eyebrows, "See what I mean?" her eyes were directed toward the engineer.

"What would be the purpose of my restored files…_retrieving…_if Alex is no longer present to accept them?"

"Not sure what that means," Cashew creased his brows.

Parvati opened her mouth to speak but ADA beat her to it, "SAM, you have your life back, and this crew appreciates us. You have friends here."

"That…that is good. Parvati makes me happy." he said.

"I'm glad I do!" she had happy tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad…" with that the crew returned to their normal activities, and that now included SAM. SAM was happy, but he mourned the loss of Alex. But what he didn't know was…

* * *

Alex opened his eyes, blinking a few times. "Wha…what is going on? I can't feel anything."

"Oh Captain, you will be feeling something very soon." came a female voice.

"Who…who are you? I can barely see anything. Am I in heaven?" He asked her.

There was a loud buzzing and then he felt a warm tingling sensation where his eyes should be. That's when he saw the dark skinned lady in front of him. "Sure, let's call it that." she said.

"Who are you?" He asked her. Feeling slowly returned to his limbs and he sat up. He looked at his hands, his…his robot hands! "Wha-what?"

"I am former Adjutant Sophia Akande and I need your help."


End file.
